The Johnnie basketball team plays host to Hamline for a 3 p.m. game on Saturday, Dec. 2, in Sexton Arena. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (3-2, 2-0 MIAC) shot 63.8 percent (37-for-58) from the field, including 50 percent (12-for-24) from three-point range, en route to a 90-64 win over Saint Mary's in the home opener Wednesday night (Nov. 29) in Collegeville.

The Johnnies made six of their final seven field-goal attempts in the first half and closed on a 12-2 run to take a 43-31 lead into the break. The home team then proceeded to shoot 71.4 percent (20-for-28) in the second half, including 55.6 percent (5-for-9) from behind the arc, and led by as much as 31.

Junior guard Zach Longueville (Eagan, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) led four Johnnies in double figures with 14 points thanks to a 4-for-5 showing from long range. Thirteen of the 17 Johnnies who saw the court scored a basket in the victory.

Senior guard Blake Berg (West Fargo, N.D./Sheyenne) followed with 13 points, on 6-for-7 shooting, and junior wing Griffin Rushin (Baxter, Minn./Brainerd) added 11 points – all in the first half – and a team-best six rebounds with a career-high three blocks. Junior guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) was the fourth Johnnie in double digits with 10 points.

Cameron Mallory led Saint Mary's with 13 points and eight boards. The visitors were whistled for five fouls in the game (one in the first half) and shot 41.3 percent (26-for-63) from the floor, but just 18.8 percent (3-for-16) from behind the arc. 

SJU out-rebounded SMU by a 36-25 margin, though the Cardinals tallied 17 points off 13 turnovers and posted a 10-5 edge in second-chance points.

The 90 points scored were tied for the second-most – including SJU's 90-58 win over Saint Mary's on Feb. 11, 2023, in Collegeville – over the last five seasons.

HOME STREAK CONTINUES: With the win, the Johnnies improved to 96-22 against Saint Mary's since the 1964-65 season, including a 59-1 record in Collegeville. SJU has now won 56 straight at home (52-0 in the Warner Palaestra) in the series.

TWO FROM NO. 10: Vaughn has 142 career three-pointers and needs two to tie Ryan Lieser '08 for 10th on SJU's all-time list. Vaughn is currently eighth in career three-point percentage (.406, 142-for-350).

Most Three-Pointers in SJU History
1. 266 - David Stokman (109 games) - 2015-19
2. 232 - Patrick Strom (108 games) - 2014-18
3. 180 - Larry Bassett (80 games) - 1988-92
4. 172 - Joe Deignan (105 games) - 1991-95
5. 168 - Oakley Baker (91 games) - 2017-21
6. 165 - Seth Marx (81 games) - 2010-14
7. 161 - Chris Schwartz (99 games) - 2007-11
8. 160 - Andy Burns (104 games) - 2008-12
9. 150 - Alex Schmitt (97 games) - 2012-16
10. 144 - Ryan Lieser (79 games) - 2005-08

STAT COMPARISONS
Scoring Offense
-SJU, 77.6 ppg.
-HU, 70.0 ppg.

Scoring Defense
-HU, 61.5 ppg.
-SJU, 72.4 ppg.

Shooting Percentage
-SJU, .478 (131-274)
-HU, .418 (102-244)

Three-Point Percentage
-SJU, .380 (41-108)
-HU, .283 (26-92)

Free-Throw Percentage
-SJU, .833 (85-102)
-HU, .725 (50-69)
    
Rebounding
-SJU, 34.0 rpg.
-HU, 32.7 rpg.

A LOOK AT THE PIPERS: Hamline (3-1, 2-0 MIAC) took a five-point loss at Northwestern to open the season but has since rattled off three-straight victories, including a pair of conference wins. The Pipers' most recent matchup was a 64-62 home win over Bethel on Wednesday night (Nov. 29). Junior (6-foot-4) wing Bradley Cimperman led HU with 25 points on 9 of 22 shooting (4-for-9 from three-point), including the game-winning basket at the buzzer. Junior (6-foot-6) forward Mick Wherley fell a point shy of a double-double with 10 rebounds. Cimperman leads the team with an average of 27.5 points per game, while junior (6-foot-6) forward Austin Holt averages 12.7 points and a team-best 8.0 rebounds per game.

LAST SEASON: The two teams split the 2022-23 season series with both teams winning on the road.

Saint John's 75, at Hamline 46 – Dec. 10
SJU out-scored Hamline 42-16 in the second half to win its fifth-straight game, 75-46, last Dec. 10 (2022) in Hutton Arena.

Three days after SJU held Macalester to 14 points in the second half, including four over the game's final 12:34, the Johnnies broke open a 33-30 halftime score with the second half's first 11 points in an eventual 19-4 run (52-34) and never looked back. Hamline scored two points in the first 6:49 after halftime and went 4-for-24 from the field, including 0-for-10 from behind the three-point arc, in the second half.

The Johnnies shot above 59 percent for the fourth-consecutive game – 60.8 percent (31-for-51) – and outrebounded the Pipers by a 36-21 margin. HU finished at 28.3 percent (15-for-53) overall and 24 percent (6-for-25) from three-point range.

SJU shot 58.3 percent (14-for-24) from the field and outrebounded the home team 18-9 in the first half, but committed nine turnovers and led by only three (33-30) at the break. The Pipers cut into a 10-point SJU lead (29-19) by taking an 11-4 run into halftime. 

The visitors made seven of their first nine shot attempts and went 3-for-3 at the free-throw line in the 19-4 run to start the second half.

Thissen led all scorers with 20 points, his fourth 20-point game of the season and 11th of his career. Vaughn followed with 16 points, 11 of which came in the second half on a 3-for-3 showing from three-point. Carson Schoeller '23 and Longueville added seven points apiece. Schoeller grabbed 10 rebounds and Longueville led SJU with five assists. Mitchell Plombon '23, who scored a career-high 27 points in Wednesday's victory at Macalester, was plagued by foul trouble and collected four points with four boards in 15 minutes.

Austin Holt led HU with 18 points. The Pipers' top two scorers at the time, Cimperman (20.0 ppg.) and Daniel McCarrell (16.9 ppg.), combined for 12 points on 4-for-20 shooting (2-for-8 from three-point).

at Hamline 88, Saint John's 72 – Feb. 4
Hamline shot 59.1 percent (13-for-22) from three-point range – 26.7 percent above its season average – in an 88-72 win over Saint John's back on Feb. 4 in Sexton Arena.

The Pipers shot 64.5 percent (20-for-31) from the field in the first half, including a 10-for-15 showing (66.7 percent) from behind the arc. SJU led by three (9-6) five minutes into the game, but HU proceeded to make 13 of its next 14 shots, including nine consecutive and a perfect 10-for-10 showing from long range, to build a 42-24 lead with 4:09 left before intermission.

Hamline entered the game seventh in the MIAC in three-point percentage (.337, .324 overall) and eighth in overall shooting percentage (.444, .438 overall) in conference play. The Johnnies, meanwhile, took the court as the conference leader in shooting percentage in league play (.518) – sixth overall (.498) in NCAA Division III – and fifth from behind the arc (.360). SJU, however, finished at 41.9 percent (26-for-62) from the floor and a season-low 19.4 percent (6-for-31) from three-point.

Thissen led SJU with 16 points and six rebounds and added four assists. Plombon was the other Johnnie in double figures with 12 points.

Cimperman led four Pipers in double digits with 30 points. HU shot only 30.4 percent (7-for-23) in the second half to finish at an even 50 percent (27-for-54) for the game.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 95-27 against the Pipers since 1964-65, including a 53-9 record in Collegeville. Last season's loss snapped SJU's 16-game win streak against Hamline and was the Pipers' first victory in Collegeville since 2006.