Saint John's basketball opens a three-game homestand with a 7 p.m. tip-off against Saint Mary's on Wednesday, Nov. 29, in Sexton Arena. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Junior guard Luke Healy (Hudson, Wis.) scored what proved to be the game-winning basket with 4.4 seconds remaining to give Saint John's (2-2, 1-0 MIAC) a 74-72 win at Carleton to open the MIAC schedule last Tuesday (Nov. 21) in Northfield. Healy caught the inbounds pass under the hoop and dribbled the length of the court for a left-handed layup with 4.4 seconds to play. Miles Frisch's three-point attempt for Carleton, from the top of the arc at the horn, hit off the right iron for the win.

Down 37-29 at halftime, SJU opened the second half with a 17-4 run and built a 10-point lead – 69-59 – with 2:57 to play. The Knights, however, answered with a 13-3 run before Healy's go-ahead basket.

A trio of missed free throws and a pair of big shots from Carleton tied the game late. Ahead 71-67 with 42 seconds, Healy made one of his two free throws before the Knights' Matt Banovetz nailed a three-pointer to cut the home team's deficit to 72-70 with 23 ticks on the clock. An 82.4-percent (168-for-204) free-throw shooter in his career, senior wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) missed both of his free throws with 22.2 seconds remaining. Following a timeout, Luke Harris spun in the paint and tied the game with 10.8 seconds left.

Senior guard Blake Berg (West Fargo, N.D./Sheyenne) led five Johnnies in double digits for points with 16. He also added three rebounds, three assists and two blocks before he fouled out with 44 seconds remaining.

Thissen followed with 13 points, all of which came in the second half, and five rebounds. Healy finished with 11 points off the bench, while senior guard Brandon Adelman (New London, Minn./New London-Spicer) and junior guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) added two treys and 10 points apiece. A three-pointer from Adelman gave SJU its first lead of the game – 42-41 – 5:18 into the second half.

Harris led all scorers with 31 points for Carleton. He went 17-for-20 at the free-throw line – the rest of the team was 4-for-4 – and added six rebounds, five assists and three steals.

The Knights out-rebounded SJU by a 39-30 margin, including 12-6 on the offensive glass, though second-chance points were even at 9-9.

SJU shot 48.5 percent (16-for-33) from the field in the second half – to the Knights' 31-percent (9-for-29) output – to finish at 45.6 percent (26-for-57).

HOME OPENERS: SJU is 40-10 in its home opener since the 1973-74 season, including an 8-0 record under the direction of head coach Pat McKenzie '04. Four of the last six losses were to Division II opponents (three to St. Cloud State and one to Mary, N.D.). The other two were to members of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: then-No. 10 Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Nov. 15, 2009 (81-57); and Wisconsin-Platteville on Nov. 18, 2001 (79-71 in overtime).

STAT COMPARISONS
Scoring Offense
-SJU, 74.5 ppg.
-SMU, 67.8 ppg.

Scoring Defense
-SJU, 74.5 ppg.
-SMU, 79.4 ppg.

Shooting Percentage
-SMU, .470
-SJU, .435

Three-Point Percentage
-SJU, .345
-SMU, .333

Free-Throw Percentage
-SJU, .835
-SMU, .741

Rebounding
-SJU, 32.2 rpg.
-SMU, 26.8 rpg.

A LOOK AT THE CARDINALS: Saint Mary's (1-4, 0-1 MIAC) started the 2023-24 season with three-straight losses, including a 91-71 loss at Wisconsin-Platteville Nov. 10 in the opener (SJU fell to the Pioneers by an 80-78 decision a week later on Nov. 17). The Cardinals' most recent contest was an 81-75 home loss to Hamline last Tuesday (Nov. 21). Junior (6-foot-4) guard Breyton Buysman led the way for SMU with 24 points on 10 of 17 shooting (1-for-6 from three-point). Junior (5-foot-11) guard Jabari Sawyer followed with 19 points and six rebounds, while senior (6-foot-3) forward Bruce Lockwood added 11 points and eight boards. Buysman leads the team with an average of 16.8 points per game and junior (6-foot-5) guard Cameron Mallory is right behind with 15.8 and a .621 shooting percentage.

IN 2022-23: For the first time since the 2006-07, Saint John's and Saint Mary's split their regular-season series in 2022-23. The Cardinals' 69-57 win on Jan. 7 in Winona was their first over the Johnnies since Jan. 22, 2007, which snapped 29-game win streak in the series.

at Saint Mary's 69, Saint John's 57 – Jan. 7
SMU shot 62.5 percent - both overall (15-for-24) and from three-point range (5-for-8) - to outscore the Johnnies by 21 (48-27) in the second half and held the visitors to two points over the final 4:16. SJU shot only 33.3 percent (8-for-24), including a 2-for-12 showing from behind the arc, after halftime and ended the game with a season-high 19 turnovers (the most since Nov. 16, 2018 at Wisconsin-Whitewater, 22). The Cardinals scored 20 points off the 19 SJU miscues, including 13 off the eight turnovers in the second half.

SJU was without Thissen, its leading scorer (17.8 ppg.) and top playmaker (42 assists) at the time, due to illness.

The Johnnies ended the first half with a 21-0 run over the final 9:43 to take a 30-21 lead into the break. The Cardinals started the second half with a 9-1 run but did not gain their first lead of the second half, 49-47, with 9:16 to play. SJU trailed by three (58-55) with 4:16 remaining, but the home team closed the game with an 11-2 run.

Post Carson Schoeller '23 led SJU with 16 points, thanks in large part to a 4-for-5 performance from behind the arc, and 11 rebounds for his second-consecutive double-double and fourth of his career.

Vaughn was the other Johnnie in double figures in scoring with 15 points. SJU entered the game 10th in NCAA Division III in shooting percentage (.501) and finished at 40.5 percent (17-for-42). 

Raheem Anthony led the Cardinals with 32 points, including 23 in the second half, as well as 10 rebounds and five steals. The top three-point shooting team in Division III at 43.3 percent (106-for-245), Saint Mary's ended at 46.2 percent (24-for-52) overall and an even 50 percent (7-for-14) from long range.

at Saint John's 90, Saint Mary's 58 – Feb. 11
SJU clinched its 29th appearance in the MIAC Playoffs (est. 1984-85) and 11th consecutive with the lop-sided win. The Johnnies shot 67.2 percent (39-for-58) in the victory, including a 32-for-39 performance (82.1 percent) inside the three-point arc. 

The home team shot 66.7 percent (18-for-27) in the first half – 17-for-20 inside the arc – to take a 38-30 lead into halftime. The lead fluctuated for the second half's first seven minutes but was still eight (52-44) with 12:26 remaining. The Johnnies, however, erupted with a 28-2 run – including 17 straight points over a 4:02 span – to build a 30-point margin the rest of the way.

Thissen led all scorers with 20 points – one of five Johnnies in double figures – on a perfect 10-for-10 showing from the field. The performance was SJU's best since Lucas Walford '20 went 10-for-10 from the floor on Dec. 21, 2019, at Willamette (Ore.), though Chris Neumann '13 recorded one more shot (11-for-11) on Jan. 9, 2013, against Concordia-Moorhead.

Berg followed with 14 points, including eight of the team's first 12, and a career-high six assists. Vaughn recorded 11 points and five rebounds and two Johnnies – Adelman and Schoeller – added 10 points apiece off the bench. Schoeller fell one rebound shy of a double-double.

Anthony led SMU, which finished at 35.2 percent (19-for-54) for the game, with 17 points on 4-for-10 shooting. He entered the game as the NCAA Division III leader in made field goals (204) and points (543), and was second in points per game (24.7).

SJU scored a season-high 21 points off 12 Cardinal turnovers and posted a 34-24 advantage on the glass. The 90 points scored were a season high and the most since Jan. 20, 2020 (a 90-60 home win over Macalester). The .672 shooting percentage was also the program's best since Nov. 28, 2018 (.694 in a 90-55 home victory over Bethel).

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 95-22 against the Cardinals since the 1964-65 season, including a 58-1 record in Collegeville. The Johnnies have won 55-straight games at home (51-0 in the Warner Palaestra). The last time Saint Mary's defeated SJU in Collegeville occurred Jan. 31, 1968, when the Johnnies played in the Old Gym (Guild Hall).