Saint John's travels to face Saint Mary's for a 7 p.m. game on Wednesday, Jan. 17, in Winona. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (12-3, 10-0 MIAC) overcame a seven-point deficit with 4:29 remaining in a 73-70 win over Gustavus Adolphus last night (Monday, Jan. 15) in Sexton Arena.
 
SJU 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 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.
  
Junior guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) was the third Johnnie in double figures with 13 points. 

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.
 
Monday'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.

26TH ON THE SCORING LIST: Last night's 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). Matt Ohme '07 is 24th (1,121) and John Eisenschenk '81 is 23rd (1,129).

CLOSING IN ON FOURTH: Vaughn went 2-for-6 from three-point range and is now one trey behind Deignan (172) for fourth in program history with 171.

RECEIVING VOTES: For the second time this season, SJU received votes in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 poll posted prior to Monday's tip-off.

STAT COMPARISONS: The Johnnies lead the league in scoring offense, shooting percentage, three-point percentage and free-throw percentage, and are second in scoring defense, in conference play.

Scoring Offense
1. SJU, 86.4 ppg. (82.9 overall)
7. SMU, 71.6 ppg. (69.3 overall)

Scoring Defense
2. SJU, 66.5 ppg. (69.7 overall)
8. SMU, 77.4 ppg. (77.6 overall)

Shooting Percentage
1. SJU, .538 (.503 overall *No. 3 in Division III) 
9. SMU, .448 (.450 overall)

Three-Point Percentage
1. SJU, .423 (.384 overall)
t9. SMU, .324 (.332 overall)

Free-Throw Percentage
1. SJU, .763 (.795 overall *No. 6 in Division III)
10. SMU, .677 (.681 overall)

Rebounding
5. SJU, 33.1 rpg. (33.5 overall)
10. SMU, 30.7 rpg. (30.1 overall)

NATIONAL STATS: As noted above, SJU is third in NCAA Division III in shooting percentage and sixth in free-throw percentage. The Johnnies are also ninth in fewest turnovers per game (10.1) and 15th in three-point percentage. Individually, Vaughn is seventh in three-point percentage at .483 (42-for-87). Saint Mary's is 11th nationally in fewest fouls per contest (13.3).

A LOOK AT THE CARDINALS: Saint Mary's (3-12, 2-8 MIAC) was on the wrong side of a buzzer-beater as Carleton tipped in a missed jumper to earn a 75-73 victory this past Saturday (Jan. 13) in Winona. The Cardinals started out hot, scoring the game's first 12 points, and took a 10-point lead into halftime (38-28). The second half went back and forth before a put-back basket from senior (6-foot-3) forward Bruce Lockwood tied the game with 12 seconds left before Carleton's game-winning basket at the horn. Junior (6-foot-5) guard Cameron Mallory led SMU with 20 points, while senior (6-foot-1) guard Owen Ziegler followed with 17 thanks to a 5-for-9 performance from behind the arc. Mallory leads the team in scoring (16.6 ppg.) and is a 52-percent shooter from the field (102-for-196). Junior (6-foot-4) guard Breyton Buysman is the other Cardinal averaging in double figures at 15.1 points per game.

EARLIER THIS SEASON: SJU 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 back on Nov. 29.

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.

Longueville 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. Vaughn was the fourth Johnnie in double digits with 10 points.

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.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 96-22 against the Cardinals since the 1964-65 season, including a 32-21 record in Winona, and have won 31 of the last 32 meetings overall. Last year's loss snapped the Johnnies' 14-game win streak in the SMU Gym.