Saint John's basketball returns to competition – and MIAC play – with a 7 p.m. tip-off at St. Olaf on Wednesday, Jan. 3, in Northfield. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (8-3, 6-0 MIAC) went 1-1 back on Dec. 19 and 20 in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Saint John's 91, Nazareth (N.Y.) 79 – Dec. 19
SJU moved its win streak to eight games with a 91-79 victory over Nazareth (N.Y.) in its first game of the Florida trip. The Johnnies shot 55.2 percent (16-for-29) from the field in the second half – 65 percent (13-for-20) from inside the three-point arc – and held Nazareth to 38.7 percent (12-for-31) in the game's final 20 minutes.

SJU ended the first half with a 14-2 run (11-0 over the final 2:20) and took a 40-35 lead into intermission. The momentum spilled over to the second half as the Johnnies opened with an 8-2 run. An 11-1 run gave SJU its largest lead of the game – 18 (77-59) with 3:10 to play – but the Golden Flyers scored seven points on one trip down the floor thanks to a two free throws on a shooting foul, two more on a technical foul and a three-pointer on the extra possession. The Johnnies, however, sealed it by going 12-for-15 from the charity stripe the rest of the way and finished at 82.8 percent (24-for-29) for the game.

Senior wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) fell a point shy of his career high with 29, including 19 in the first half, for his second 20-point game of the season and 19th of his career. He finished 9-for-12 shooting (10-for-11 from the free-throw line) and grabbed five second-half rebounds. The 29-point performance lifted him past four former Johnnies - Nate Guetter '99 (1,018), Kipp Christianson '97 (1,025), Steve Ward '75 (1,042) and Mark Lenss '78 (1,044) - into 35th on SJU's all-time scoring list with 1,046 for his career.

Senior guard Blake Berg (West Fargo, N.D./Sheyenne) and junior guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) followed with 16 and 14 points, respectively. Junior guard Luke Healy (Hudson, Wis.) added 11 points off the bench and senior wing Connor Schwob (Waconia, Minn.) collected a career-high 11 rebounds.

Logan Blankenberg and Jaylen Savage led Nazareth with 15 points apiece. The Golden Flyers posted a 21-6 record last season and entered Tuesday's game third in NCAA Division III in fewest turnovers per game (9.1). SJU forced 10 turnovers, including eight in the first half alone, which turned into 13 points. The Johnnies also out-rebounded Nazareth by a 38-30 margin (7-2 on the offensive glass) and posted a 13-6 advantage in second-chance points.

then-No. 13 Mount Union (Ohio) 76, Saint John's 65 – Dec. 20
The win streak ended with a 76-65 loss to then-No. 13 Mount Union the following day at Division II Eckerd College.

The Johnnies shot an uncharacteristic 37.3 percent (22-for-59) from the field, including just 20 percent (5-for-25) from three-point range, in the loss. SJU entered the game fifth in NCAA Division III in shooting percentage (.509) and seventh in three-point percentage (.408). The 37.3-percent performance was the team's lowest since Nov. 13, 2021: 36.1 percent (22-for-61) in a 62-58 neutral-site loss to Hope (Mich.).

SJU led 20-13 with 11:31 left in the first half but proceeded to go cold went on a 6:01 drought between points. Mount Union, meanwhile, went on a 13-0 run and led the rest of the way. The Purple Raiders finished with a 30-3 record as the Division III national runner-up, thanks to a last-second basket, last season.

Three Johnnies – Thissen, senior guard Brandon Adelman (New London, Minn./New London-Spicer) and junior guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) – scored 10 points apiece. 

UMU led by as much as 19 (67-48) with 4:25 to play, three minutes after SJU went on a 5:08 scoring drought.

Collen Gurley led five Purple Raiders in double figures with 14 points, thanks to a 4-for-7 showing from behind the arc in the first half, and collected eight rebounds. Christian Parker added 13 points and eight boards, while Corey Hudson totaled 12 points with an 8-for-10 showing at the charity stripe. Caleb Laurich posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. He entered the game 1-for-7 from three-point land this season and went 3-for-4 against SJU.

Mount Union out-rebounded the Johnnies 47-35 (28-16 in the second half), including 12-6 on the offensive glass (9-3 in the second half). SJU only scored two points off eight turnovers.

ONE POINT FROM 34TH: Thissen takes the court Wednesday with 1,056 career points, one behind Ryan Lieser '08 in 34th (1,057). Kevin Coleman '72 is 33rd with 1,065 and Andy Burns '12 is 32nd (1,068). 

TIED FOR EIGHTH: Vaughn's pair of three-pointers (2-for-5) Dec. 20 vs. Mount Union tied him with Burns for eighth-most in program history with 160. Chris Schwartz '11 is seventh with 161 and Seth Marx '14 is sixth (165).

STAT COMPARISONS: SJU leads St. Olaf in all six, major statistical categories in MIAC play so far this season (see below). The Johnnies are second in NCAA Division III in free-throw percentage (.817), 10th in overall shooting percentage (.497) and 12th in fewest turnovers per game (10.3). Individually, Vaughn is 11th nationally from the free-throw line (.918/45-for-49) and from three-point range (.492/31-for-63).

Scoring Offense
2. SJU, 89.0 ppg. (83.1 overall)
4. STO, 77.0 ppg. (72.5 overall)

Scoring Defense
4. SJU, 66.5 ppg. (70.9 overall)
7. STO, 80.8 ppg. (79.0 overall)

Shooting Percentage
2. SJU, .549 (.497 overall *No. 10 in Division III)
4. STO, .468 (.468 overall)

Three-Point Percentage
1. SJU, .448 (.388 overall)
8. STO, .336 (.304 overall)

Free-Throw Percentage
1. SJU, .787 (.817 overall *No. 2 in Division III)
7. STO, .699 (.716 overall)

Rebounding
4. SJU, 34.7 rpg. (34.5 overall)
7. STO, 32.2 rpg. (30.5 overall)

A LOOK AT THE OLES: St. Olaf (4-7, 3-3 MIAC) suffered its second-straight loss – 87-60 – last Saturday (Dec. 30) at Wisconsin-Eau Claire. UWEC started the game with a 22-4 run and led 44-22 at halftime. The Oles shot 60.9 percent (14-for-23) in the second half but cut their deficit to as little as 19 thanks to a 58.1-percent showing by the Blugolds. Senior (6-foot-2) guard Connor Martin led STO with 17 points. He leads the team in shooting percentage (.547), assists (34) and steals (15), and is second in scoring with an average of 16.8 points per contest. Sophomore (6-foot-4) forward Kobe Kirk leads the Oles in both scoring (17.5 ppg.) and rebounding (5.7 rpg.).

LAST SEASON: SJU avenged an early-season loss to St. Olaf with a pair of home wins last season.

at St. Olaf 73, Saint John's 62 – Nov. 19, 2022
SJU opened the 2022-23 conference schedule with a 73-62 loss at St. Olaf. The Oles shot 57.6 percent (19-for-33) in the first half to build a 48-27 halftime lead. The Johnnies cut the deficit to nine (54-45) with 13:32 to play, but STO answered with four straight points and led by double digits the rest of the way.
 
Thissen was the lone Johnnie in double figures with 13 points. He added six rebounds and three assists. SJU shot 50 percent (15-for-30) from the floor in the second half to finish an even 45 percent (27-for-60) for the game. STO cooled to 44.4 percent in the second half, including a 0-for-8 showing from long range, to end at 51.7 percent (31-for-60) overall.
 
Nathan Hendler led four Oles in double figures with 18 points. SJU outrebounded STO on the offensive glass, 10-9, but the home team posted a 15-8 advantage in second-chance points and a 33-30 rebounding margin overall. Both teams committed six turnovers, though the Oles turned the miscues into nine points, to the Johnnies' three.

at Saint John's 69, St. Olaf 66 – Jan. 28, 2023
The Johnnies avenged an early-season loss to St. Olaf with a nail-biting 69-66 win in Sexton Arena. SJU led by as much as eight points in the game (8:39 mark of the first half) and by five (67-62) with 2:10 remaining, but needed a clutch performance from Thissen to clinch the win.

The Oles made back-to-back buckets to cut their deficit to one (67-66) with 57 seconds left and had the opportunity to tie or gain the lead, but Brendan Kauls missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity at the free-throw line with 40 ticks on the clock. Thissen grabbed the defensive rebound and drained a step-back jumper in the paint with 13 seconds left. An off-balance three-point shot from Kirk hit the front rim as time expired.

Thissen finished with a season-high 27 points, on 11 of 16 shooting, and grabbed six rebounds in 36 minutes of play. Junior guard Zach Longueville (Eagan, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) followed with a career-high 14 points, while adding four rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Post Carson Schoeller '23 totaled 12 points and seven boards, while post Mitchell Plombon '22 collected 10 points and four rebounds. SJU's starters combined to shoot 56.5 percent (26-for-46) from the field.

Martin led STO, which shot 57.7 percent (15-for-26) in the second half to finish at an even 50 percent (26-for-52) for the game, with 19 points. Michael Meriggioli nearly doubled his season average (9.5 ppg.) with 18 points and fell one rebound shy of a double-double.

at Saint John's 67, St. Olaf 56 – Feb. 24, 2023 (MIAC Playoffs)
SJU advanced to the MIAC championship game for the fourth-consecutive tournament (fifth in the last six) with a 67-56 win over St. Olaf in Collegeville.

A pair of free throws from Kirk with 2:45 remaining capped a 7-0 run for St. Olaf and cut its deficit to four, 59-55. The Johnnies, however, scored eight of the game's final nine points to seal the victory.

STO ended the first half with a 6-0 run to take a 33-30 lead into halftime. The Oles shot 50 percent (14-for-28) from the field in the game's first 20 minutes, but were held to 33.3 percent (7-for-21) in the second half, including a 1-for-5 showing from three-point range.

Thissen led SJU with 24 points, his ninth 20-point game of the season and 16th of his career, on 10 of 16 shooting. He played all but 51 seconds in the game. Plombon totaled 15 points and six rebounds, while Vaughn finished with 10 points and three steals.

Adelman added nine points and five boards in 19 minutes off the bench. He made a pair of free throws with 33 seconds left, then jumped a pass on the ensuing possession and sprinted to a fast-break dunk to give the crowd of over 1,000 a thunderous conclusion.

Six Johnnies recorded five rebounds or more as the home team outrebounded STO by a 38-26 margin and posted a 42-22 scoring advantage in the paint. SJU's bench also outscored the Oles, 13-0.

Kirk led all scorers with 25 points for the Oles. St. Olaf entered the game sixth in Division III in fewest turnovers per game (10.2) and matched that total with 10 on the night, but SJU scored 17 points off the miscues, including 14 off the seven turnovers in the second half alone.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 75-36 against the Oles since the 1964-65 season, but just 27-27 on St. Olaf's home court. SJU has won nine of the last 11 meetings overall (12 of the last 15).