Box Score

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's basketball shot 62.7 percent (37-for-59) from the field and returned to the win column with a 102-90 victory over Carleton on Wednesday, Jan. 24, in Sexton Arena.

The Johnnies (14-4, 12-1 MIAC) made 66.7 percent (24-for-36) of their shots, including a 9-for-14 performance from three-point range, to build a 60-39 halftime lead. The Knights (10-7, 7-5 MIAC) made each of their first six shots and led for the game's first 9:48 until SJU went on a 13-2 run – fueled by eight points from junior wing Griffin Rushin (Baxter, Minn./Brainerd) off the bench – to gain a 35-25 lead with 7:09 left in the first half. The home team then proceeded to make nine of its final 13 shot attempts for the 21-point cushion at intermission.

Carleton scored the first six points of the second half and cut its deficit to as little as five (76-71) with 11:09 remaining thanks to a 15-5 run. A trio of free throws from junior guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) on the next possession put him on the scoreboard and extended the lead back to eight. Miles Frisch made it a six-point game for the Knights on the other end, but back-to-back buckets from senior guard Blake Berg (West Fargo, N.D./Sheyenne) and junior guard Zach Longueville (Eagan, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) pushed the lead back to double digits and the Johnnies led by at least seven the rest of the way. SJU went a perfect 13-for-13 from the free-throw line in the second half and finished at 50 percent (12-for-24) from long range in the victory.

Longueville led five Johnnies in double figures with a career-high 19 points on an 8-for-10 night from the floor. He scored 12 points in the second half, eight of which came in the game's final 8:52. He also added four assists and three rebounds.

Senior wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) added 17 points, six rebounds and four assists. The 17 points lifted him past Aaron Burtzel '11 (1,153) and Bill Christopherson '53 (1,164), and into a tie with Tom Melancon '68 for 18th on SJU's all-time scoring list with 1,166 for his career.



Sophomore guard Kyle Johnson (Prior Lake, Minn./DeLaSalle) and Rushin followed with 16 and 15 points, respectively, off the bench. The duo combined to go 7-for-10 from behind the arc. Berg was the other Johnnie in double digits with 11 points. SJU outrebounded Carleton 31-23 in the contest and scored 10 points off six turnovers, all in the first half.

Luke Harris led the Knights with a game-high 30 points with a 7-for-14 showing from the field and a 14-16 performance at the charity stripe. He also led the visitors with seven rebounds. Matt Banovetz followed with a career-high 25 points, thanks to a 6-for-10 night from three-point.

The 102 points were a series high for SJU against Carleton, which surpassed the previous high of 89 scored in an 89-76 win on Feb. 1, 1964, in the Old Gym.

The 100-point game was the Johnnies' third this season, which are the most since the 2017-18 campaign when they also recorded three.

SJU travels to face Macalester (9-9, 5-8 MIAC) for a 3 p.m. game on Saturday, Jan. 27, at the Leonard Center in St. Paul.