Box Score
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – Saint John's basketball opened the 2023-24 season with an 82-69 loss at Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Tuesday, Nov. 14.
A layup from senior guard
Blake Berg (West Fargo, N.D./Sheyenne) cut the deficit to three (67-64) with 6:21 to play for SJU (0-1 overall), but the made field goal was the visitors' last as UWEC (1-1 overall) ended the game with a 15-5 run to seal the victory.
The Blugolds shot 60 percent (18-for-30) in the second half to finish at 49.2 percent (30-for-61) for the game and totaled 20 points off 16 SJU turnovers in the contest.
The Johnnies, meanwhile, shot 37.7 percent (20-for-53) from the field and just 2-for-18 from behind the three-point arc. The 11.1-percent showing from long range was the program's worst since Nov. 25, 2016 (1-for-9/9.1 percent vs. Willamette in Colorado Springs, Colo.).
SJU stayed in the game thanks to a 27-for-31 performance (87.1 percent) from the free-throw line.
Junior guard
Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) led all scorers with 23 points – the sixth 20-point game of his career – on 6-for-10 shooting. The rest of the team shot 32.6 percent from the floor and 0-for-13 from three-point land.
The Johnnies made only two of their first 11 shots in the game and trailed by nine (29-20) with 5:30 left in the first half. SJU, however, closed on a 14-5 run to enter the locker room tied at 34-34.
UWEC started the second half with eight-straight points from Michael Casper, but the Johnnies clawed back to within one (43-42) with 15:56 left. The Blugolds answered with seven-consecutive baskets to build a 10-point lead (58-48). Traditional three-point plays from Vaughn and senior wing
Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview), followed by three free throws from Vaughn and two points in the paint by junior wing
Luke Budzyn (St. Paul, Minn./East Ridge) made it 65-62 with 7:33 remaining.
Berg finished with 11 points and five rebounds, while Thissen added 10 points.
Casper led UWEC with 2- points and six boards. Carter Huschka collected 16 points, seven rebounds and five blocks.
SJU travels to Aberdeen, S.D., for the Small College Basketball Champions Classic this Friday-Saturday (Nov. 17-18) at Division II Northern State's Wachs Arena. The Johnnies face Wisconsin-Platteville at 2:30 p.m. Friday followed by Stockton (N.J.) at noon Saturday.
