Saint John's basketball plays host to Gustavus Adolphus at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1, in Sexton Arena. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats/Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Concordia went 25-for-25 at the free-throw line to top Saint John's 81-76 on Monday night (Jan. 30) in Moorhead. The Cobbers shot 21 percent above its season average from three-point range (33.3) and entered the game as the MIAC's second-best free-throw shooting team at 78.4 percent in league play. The Johnnies (12-7, 9-5 MIAC) were not far behind CC at the line - going 18-for-20 at the charity stripe - all in the second half. In a game between the MIAC's top rebounding team (SJU, 34.6 rpg.) against the league's worst in conference play (CC, 28.8 rpg.), the Cobbers ended the night with a 27-25 edge on the glass.

SJU made nine of its first 15 shots (3-for-7 from long range) to gain a 21-14 lead halfway through the first half, but proceeded to make just one of its next eight attempts as the Cobbers rattled off an 18-2 run en route to a 38-31 halftime lead.

CC led by as much as 12 (51-39) with 13:25 to play, but SJU responded with a 12-0 run to tie the game less than three minutes later. The Cobbers' Jacob Cook gave the lead back to the home team with back-to-back buckets and, after junior guard Brandon Adelman (New London, Minn./New London-Spicer) drained a three to cut the Johnnies' deficit to one (57-56), Matthew Johnson was fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three free throws.

The Johnnies continued to fight and eventually cut the deficit to one on three more occasions inside of the final 3:12. The whistle worked against SJU and Johnson made both free throws to bring the Cobbers' lead back to three on the first two instances, and Zach Jackson – a 25-percent (3-for-12) three-point shooter – made a trey on the last (his lone shot attempt of the game). SJU missed shots in the paint on the next two possessions and the home team's perfect shooting from the charity stripe extended the lead for good. 

Junior wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) led SJU with 23 points, his second-consecutive 20-point game, and had four assists.

Adelman finished with a career-high 17 points off the bench and sophomore guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) added 12. 

Cook more than quadrupled his season average (6.4 ppg.) with a game-high 27 points off the bench, including 17 points in the first half, on 10-for-13 shooting. The rest of the Cobbers shot 34.9 percent (15-for-43) from the field.

The loss snapped SJU's 10-game win streak in the series.

HOME GAMES AHEAD: Four of SJU's next five games are at home, where the Johnnies are 7-1 (5-1 MIAC) so far this season and 67-11 (.859) during the regular season during Pat McKenzie's tenure as head coach (since 2015-16). 

STAT COMPARISONS: SJU leads GAC in four of the six major statistical categories in conference play. The Gusties currently tout the league's best scoring offense, but also the worst scoring defense. Wednesday's matchup features the conference's top-two shooting teams.

Scoring Offense
1. GAC, 78.8 ppg. (77.0 overall)
7. SJU, 71.2 ppg. (70.6 overall)

Scoring Defense
1. SJU, 61.8 ppg. (62.9 overall)
11. GAC, 78.9 ppg. (78.2 overall)

Shooting Percentage
1. SJU, .518 (.497 overall *No. 6 in Division lll)
2. GAC, .500 (.480 overall)

Three-Point Percentage
2. GAC, .391 (.393 overall *No. 9 in Division III)
5. SJU, .358 (.350 overall)

Free-Throw Percentage
4. SJU, .773 (.765 overall)
10. GAC, .665 (.667 overall)

Rebounding
2. SJU, 33.9 rpg. (34.6 overall)
6. GAC, 32.5 rpg. (33.6 overall)

NATIONAL STATS: Sophomore guard Zach Longueville (Eagan, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) is currently 10th in NCAA Division III in assist-turnover ratio (+3.00, 63 assists/21 turnovers), while senior post Mitchell Plombon (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) is 11th in shooting percentage (.642). As noted above, SJU touts the sixth-best shooting percentage as a team (.497) and is 15th from the free-throw line (.765).

A LOOK AT THE GUSTIES: Gustavus Adolphus (9-11, 9-6 MIAC) fell at St. Scholastica, 67-66, Monday night (Jan. 30) in Duluth. The Saints built a 14-point lead twice, but a 9-3 Gustie run cut the home team's lead to 38-32 at halftime. Sophomore (6-foot-5) forward Spencer Swanson gave GAC its first lead since the opening minute of the game, 42-40, 4:25 into the second half but CSS went on a 10-0 run and led by as much as eight (64-56) with 4:44 remaining. St. Scholastica, however, scored only three points the rest of the game and senior (6-foot-0) guard Jordan Schommer had a chance to tie the game at the charity stripe with 29 seconds left, but made only one of two. Schommer then had a chance win the game at the buzzer, but his long three-point attempt fell short. Swanson, the team's leading scorer (20.8 ppg.), led the way with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Junior (6-foot-4) forward Evan Wieker added 12 points and five rebounds. Swanson was named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Division III Men's Basketball National Player of the Week Jan. 31 for his average of 32.5 points and 11 rebounds, while shooting 65.9 percent (27-for-41), in the Gusties' two close wins last week.

EARLIER THIS SEASON: SJU posted a 66-50 win at Gustavus Adolphus back on Nov. 22 in St. Peter. The Johnnies broke open a three-point game (19-16) by closing the first half with a 14-5 run for a 33-21 lead at the break. The visitors rode an 11-0 run during the midpoint of the second half to gain their largest lead of the game, 21 (59-38), with 9:11 remaining. The Gusties answered with an 11-1 run of their own, but Thissen scored SJU's final six points, including all four shots at the charity stripe. 

Thissen scored a game-high 26 points on 10-for-18 shooting (2-for-4 from three-point) and grabbed six rebounds. Vaughn was the other Johnnie in double digits with 11 points thanks to a 3-for-6 showing from long range. 
 
Senior post Mitchell Plombon (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) added nine points and classmate Carson Schoeller (Prior Lake, Minn.) scored seven with a career-high 16 rebounds.
 
GAC was in the bonus thanks to the seventh foul on SJU with 12:58 left in the game but missed the front end of a one-and-one on the next three opportunities. The Gusties finished at 40 percent (18-for-45) for the game, including 30.8 percent (4-for-13) behind the arc, and 55.6 percent (10-for-18) at the free-throw line.
 
SJU shot 50 percent (12-for-24) from the floor to finish at 47.2 percent (25-for-53) on the night, with a 41.2-percent showing (7-for-17) from three-point land. The Johnnies out-rebounded the Gusties by a 35-22 margin.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 67-59 against Gustavus since the 1964-65 season, including a 42-24 record in Collegeville. The Johnnies have won each of the last 12 meetings overall and eight of the last nine in Sexton Arena.