The Johnnie basketball team plays host to Gustavus Adolphus at 7 p.m. tonight (Monday, Jan. 15) in Sexton Arena. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (11-3, 9-0 MIAC) repelled a furious rally by Bethel to earn an 83-67 win last Wednesday (Jan. 10) in Arden Hills.
 
SJU led by 21 (52-31) just 1:26 into the second half, but Bethel 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. 
 
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. 
 
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.

FINALLY AT HOME: Tonight's home game is SJU's first since Dec. 9 and the first of just two in the month of January.

UP TO 28TH: 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) and John Wiehoff '84 is 26th (1,106).

CLOSING IN ON 4TH: 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.  

MLK DAY: The first Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was celebrated on Jan. 20, 1986. Since that date, the Johnnies are 17-12 on the holiday (with nine byes), including a 14-4 record at home.

STAT COMPARISONS: SJU and GAC are 1-2 in the MIAC in scoring offense, shooting percentage and three-point percentage in conference play. The Johnnies also lead the league in scoring defense (GAC is sixth) and from the charity stripe (GAC is fourth).

Scoring Offense
1. SJU, 87.9 ppg. (83.6 overall)
2. GAC, 86.6 ppg. (80.0 overall)

Scoring Defense
1. SJU, 66.1 ppg. (69.7 overall)
6. GAC, 73.1 ppg. (74.3 overall)

Shooting Percentage
1. SJU, .550 (.509 overall) *No. 1 in Division III
2. GAC, .528 (.507 overall) *No. 2 in Division III

Three-Point Percentage
1. SJU, .439 (.392 overall) No. 11 in Division III
2. GAC, .425 (.395 overall) T-No. 9 in Division III

Free-Throw Percentage
1. SJU, .764 (.798 overall) *No. 5 in Division III
4. GAC, .732 (.710 overall)

Rebounding
2. GAC, 36.9 rpg. (35.7 overall)
6. SJU, 33.8 rpg. (34.0 overall)

NCAA RANKINGS: As noted above, tonight's showdown features NCAA Division III's top-two shooting teams. The Johnnies are fifth nationally at the free-throw line, while the Gusties edge SJU from three-point range. SJU is also 11th nationally in fewest turnovers per game (10.3). Individually, Vaughn is fifth in Division III from behind the three-point arc at 49.4 percent (40-for-81) and is eighth from the free-throw line at 92.2 percent (47-for-51).

A LOOK AT THE GUSTIES: Gustavus Adolphus (8-6, 7-2 MIAC) suffered its second MIAC loss of the season – 84-77 – this past Saturday (Jan. 13) at Hamline. HU broke a 37-37, halftime tie by shooting 66.7 percent from the field, including 6-for-8 from three-point land, in the second half for the victory. The Pipers scored 22 points off 16 GAC turnovers. Junior (6-foot-2) guard Brady Kienitz scored a career-high 20 points, while junior (6-foot-5) forward Spencer Swanson added a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Swanson leads the team in scoring (20.9 ppg.), rebounding (8.4 rpg.), minutes played (36.4 mpg.), assists (33) and shooting percentage (.585).

LAST SEASON: The Johnnies swept last year's series for the seventh-straight season. 

Saint John's 66, at Gustavus Adolphus 50 – Nov. 22, 2022
Then-No. 25 SJU 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 Johnnies 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. Post Mitchell Plombon '22 added nine points and classmate Carson Schoeller '23 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.

at Saint John's 79, Gustavus Adolphus 60 – Feb. 1, 2023
The Johnnies received 37 points from their bench and shot 51.6 percent (32-for-62) from the field in a 79-60 win – the 150th of head coach Pat McKenzie's career – over Gustavus last February.
 
SJU entered the game with the sixth-best shooting percentage (.497) in NCAA Division III and recorded 23 assists on 32 made field goals. The home team shot 61.1 percent (22-for-36) inside the arc, including 72.2 percent (13-for-18) in the second half.
 
SJU held GAC to 29.6 percent (8-for-27) from the field in the first half for a 36-28 halftime lead. The Gusties made five of their first six shots of the second half, including all three attempts from three-point range, to cut the Johnnies' lead to four (45-41). Vaughn responded with a three-pointer to extend the lead and Thissen answered with buckets both times Gustavus made it a five-point game on the next two possessions. Five points was the closest GAC would get as SJU eventually broke an eight-point game open with an 11-0 run over a four-minute span.

Thissen led SJU with 16 points and three teammates scored in double digits off the bench. Senior guard Brandon Adelman (New London, Minn./New London-Spicer) totaled 12 points, six rebounds and four assists. Johnson tallied a career-high 11 points and Berg added 10 points and four assists. The trio combined to shoot 7-for-12 from behind the arc.
 
Vaughn ended the night with eight points and a career high six assists, while Plombon just missed a double-double with nine points and nine boards.
 
Swanson, who at the time was the reigning U.S. Basketball Writers Association Division III Men's Basketball National Player of the Week, led all scorers with 17 points on 7-for-20 shooting.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 68-59 against Gustavus since the 1964-65 season, including a 43-24 record in Collegeville. The Johnnies have won each of the last 13 meetings overall, including eight-straight in Sexton Arena (nine of the last 10).