Box Score

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's basketball overcame a seven-point deficit with 4:29 remaining in a 73-70 win over Gustavus Adolphus on Monday, Jan. 15, in Sexton Arena.

SJU (12-3, 10-0 MIAC) trailed by as much as nine (59-50) with 8:43 remaining but closed with a 15-5 run over the final 4:29, including a perfect 8-for-8 showing at the free-throw line. Junior post Luke Budzyn (St. Paul, Minn./East Ridge) started the comeback with a dunk and went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe on the next possession. Senior wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) made it a two-point game (65-63) at the 3:13 mark, but Dawson Kellen pushed the lead back to four for Gustavus (8-7, 7-3 MIAC) with a driving layup. Unfortunately for the Gusties, Kellen's basket was the visitors' last made field goal of the night. GAC turned the ball over once, missed its final four shot attempts and went 1-for-2 at the free-throw line the rest of the way.

Thissen and junior guard Zach Longueville (Eagan, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) led the Johnnies with 16 points apiece. All of Longueville's 16 points came in the second half, including a stretch of seven straight over a span of two minutes. He also collected four steals and three assists.

The 16 points pushed Thissen past Kevin Buth '03 (1,099) and John Wiehoff '84 (1,106) into 26th on SJU's all-time scoring list with 1,112, one behind Joe Deignan '95 in 25th (1,113).

Junior guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) was the third Johnnie in double figures with 13 points. He went 2-for-6 from three-point range and is now one behind Deignan (172) for fourth in program history with 171.



The Johnnies built a 16-8 lead at the 13:11 mark but proceeded to go 8:04 without a made field goal after as the Gusties gained their second lead of the contest. The lone points during the drought were two free throws from senior guard Brandon Adelman (New London, Minn./New London-Spicer) at the 11:08 mark. GAC closed the half with four-straight points to take a 33-27 lead into the break.

Tonight's game featured NCAA Division III's top-two shooting teams – first-place SJU (.509) and second-place GAC (.507) – though the Gusties bested the Johnnies' 42.4 percent (25-for-59) by shooting 48.3 percent (28-for-58) Monday night. Both teams shot 14-for-30 (46.7 percent) in the second half. GAC posted a 39-27 advantage on the glass, but the Johnnies totaled 16 points off 17 Gustie turnovers.

Spencer Swanson led Gustavus with a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds, and committed five turnovers. Wyatt Olson followed with 20 points.

Tonight's home game was SJU's first since Dec. 9 and the first of just two in the month of January.

The Johnnies received votes in D3hoops.com Top 25 poll released prior to tip-off.

With the win, the Johnnies improved to 69-59 against Gustavus since the 1964-65 season, including a 44-24 record in Collegeville. SJU has now won each of the last 14 meetings overall, including nine-consecutive in Sexton Arena.

SJU returns to the road to face Saint Mary's (3-12, 2-8 MIAC) at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 17, in Winona.