Box Score

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – Saint John's basketball repelled a furious rally by Bethel to earn an 83-67 win on Wednesday, Jan. 10, at the Robertson Center.

SJU (11-3, 9-0 MIAC) led by 21 (52-31) just 1:26 into the second half, but Bethel (7-6, 4-4 MIAC) made 10 of its first 12 shots after halftime, including a 4-for-4 performance from three-point land, to cut the Johnnies' lead to one (55-54) with 12:18 to play.

Sophomore guard Kyle Johnson (Prior Lake, Minn./DeLaSalle) gave the visitors some breathing room with a pair of baskets and SJU gained a seven-point lead (63-56) thanks to a put-back from junior post Luke Budzyn (St. Paul, Minn./East Ridge) and a fast-break bucket, off his own blocked shot, from senior guard Blake Berg (West Fargo, N.D./Sheyenne) with 8:09 remaining.

Nick Burke drained a three-pointer at the 7:36 mark to cut the Royals' deficit to four (63-59), but that was the closest they would get the rest of the way. BU made just one of its next five shots and turned the ball over twice. The Johnnies, meanwhile, scored points on five-straight possessions to re-gain a double-digit lead for good.

Senior wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) led all scorers and four Johnnies in double digits with 21 points – his third 20-point game of the season and 20th of his career – on a 10-for-15 shooting performance. He grabbed five rebounds and dished three assists. The 21 points enabled Thissen to pass Tim Muller '71 (1,079), Eric Kohorst '93 (1,080) and Luke Witt '02 (1,093) into 28th on SJU's all-time scoring list with 1,096 for his career. He is now three points behind Kevin Buth '03 in 27th (1,099).

Down 18-16 with 12:22 left in the first half, the Johnnies went on a 23-6 run over the next eight minutes to take a 48-29 lead into halftime. SJU shot 63.3 percent (19-for-30) from the field and went 5-for-6 from three-point in the first half, but made just two of its 12 three-point attempts after halftime. Overall, the visitors finished at 55.9 percent (33-for-59) from the floor and scored 15 points off 11 BU turnovers.

Berg followed Thissen with 18 points and five rebounds, while junior guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) totaled 12 points on a 4-for-9 showing from behind the arc. The four treys broke Vaughn's tie with Seth Marx '14 (165) and moved him past Oakley Baker '21 (168) into fifth on the Johnnies' all-time list with 169 career three-pointers. Joe Deignan '95 is fourth with 172. 

Johnson was the fourth Johnnie in double figures with 11 points off the bench. Berg (10), Thissen (9) and Johnson (6) scored 25 of the team's 35 points in the second half.

Zach Doely led the Royals with 20 points and six rebounds, while Nick Burke (3-for-6) and Payton Thomsen (3-for-5) both scored 13 points and combined to shoot 6-for-11 from behind the arc.

Although SJU has won 14 of the last 19 meetings against BU (66-30 since 1964-65), the win was just the Johnnies' fifth in their last 12 trips to the Robertson Center. 

The Johnnies play host to Gustavus Adolphus for a 7 p.m. tip-off on Monday, Jan. 15, in Sexton Arena. The home game is SJU's first since Dec. 9 and the first of two in the month of January.