The Johnnie basketball team travels to Duluth for a 3 p.m. game on Saturday, Jan. 6, at St. Scholastica. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (9-3, 7-0 MIAC) rode a hot first half to an 89-74 win at St. Olaf on Wednesday night (Jan. 3) in Northfield. 
 
The Johnnies shot 70.4 percent (19-for-27) from the field in the first half, including 50 percent (5-for-10) from three-point range, to take a 49-31 lead into the break. Down 14-12 6:33 into the game, SJU went on a 12-0 run and started a 12-2 advantage two minutes later to go up 38-20 with 4:55 before halftime.
 
The cylinder cooled in the second half as SJU went 0-for-6 from long range and finished at 54.8 percent (34-for-62) overall for the game. The visitors scored 26 points off 15 St. Olaf turnovers and led by as much as 22 (79-57) with 6:24 remaining.
 
Junior guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) played only 12 minutes and led SJU with 15 points, including 13 in the first half, on 6-for-7 shooting. He made three treys – all in the first half, including one at the horn.
 
Senior wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) added 12 points, four assists and two steals. 
 
Sophomore guard Kyle Johnson (Prior Lake, Minn./DeLaSalle) totaled 11 points off the bench and senior guard Blake Berg (West Fargo, N.D./Sheyenne) was the fourth Johnnie in double figures with 10, including two thunderous dunks in the first half.
 
Senior wing Connor Schwob (Waconia, Minn.) fell a basket shy of his first collegiate double-double with a career-high eight points and 11 rebounds.
 
Kobe Kirk led all scorers with 21 points for the Oles, who finished at 43.4 percent (26-for-60) from the field.

POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: The Johnnies took advantage of the 15 Ole turnovers by converting them into 26 points. The 26 points off turnovers is the most for SJU since Jan. 17, 2018: 31 points off 18 turnovers in a 133-80 win over Macalester in Collegeville.

70%+ FROM THE FIELD: SJU shot a blistering 70.4 percent (19-for-27) from the field in the first half of Wednesday's road win at St. Olaf. The occurrence was the second this season, as the Johnnies shot 71.4 percent (20-for-28) in the second half of their 90-64 win over Saint Mary's on Nov. 29 in Collegeville. The last time SJU had multiple halves where they shot 70 percent or better was during the 2018-19 season, when it accomplished the feat four times. 

STEADY CLIMBER: The dozen points moved Thissen past Ryan Lieser '08 (1,057) and Kevin Coleman '72 (1,065), and into a tie with Andy Burns '12 for 32nd on SJU's all-time scoring list with 1,068 in his career. Thissen needs just five points to pass Larry Bassett '92 (1,072) for 31st.

KOOP IN THE BOOK: Vaughn's three treys (3-for-4) on Wednesday broke his tie with Burns (160) and enabled him to pass Chris Schwartz '11 (161) for seventh in SJU history with 163 in his career. Vaughn needs a trio of threes to pass Seth Marx '14 for sixth with 165.

STAT COMPARISONS: SJU leads St. Scholastica in all six, major statistical categories in MIAC play so far this season (see below). The Johnnies are third in NCAA Division III in free-throw percentage (.812), fifth in overall shooting percentage (.501) and 12th in fewest turnovers per game (10.3). Individually, Vaughn is seventh nationally from three-point range (.507/34-for-67) and 10th from the free-throw line (.918/45-for-49).

Scoring Offense
2. SJU, 89.0 ppg. (83.6 overall)
6. CSS, 72.7 ppg. (69.8 overall)

Scoring Defense
3. SJU, 67.6 ppg. (71.2 overall)
9. CSS, 82.2 ppg. (78.2 overall)

Shooting Percentage
2. SJU, .549 (.501 overall *No. 5 in Division III)
7. CSS, .451 (.454 overall)

Three-Point Percentage
2. SJU, .434 (.383 overall)
5. CSS, .357 (.315 overall)

Free-Throw Percentage
1. SJU, .782 (.812 overall *No. 3 in Division III)
11. CSS, .623 (.608 overall)

Rebounding
4. SJU, 34.4 rpg. (34.4 overall)
9. CSS, 31.0 rpg. (31.3 overall)

A LOOK AT THE SAINTS: St. Scholastica (2-9, 1-5 MIAC) won its first MIAC game of the season, 70-64, over Bethel on Wednesday night (Jan. 3) in Duluth. The Saints overcame a six-point halftime deficit by shooting 60 percent from both the field (15-for-25) and from three-point range (9-for-15). BU shot 49 percent from the floor, to the Saints' 45.9 percent, and posted a 37-28 advantage on the glass but committed 17 turnovers and went 6-for-15 (40 percent) from the free-throw line. Junior (6-foot-1) guard Andre Crockett Jr. led all scorers with 22 points and added five boards, while senior (6-foot-1) guard Noah Winesett and junior (6-foot-3) guard Jacquez Overstreet – who saw his first action after transferring from Marian (Wis.) – added 10 points apiece. Winesett leads the Saints with an average of 14.3 points per game.

LAST SEASON: SJU swept last season's series against the Saints in convincing fashion. 

at Saint John's 81, St. Scholastica 58 – Nov. 30, 2022
SJU closed November 2022 with an 81-58 home win over St. Scholastica in Sexton Arena. The Johnnies shot a then-season-high 60 percent (30-for-50) from the field, including 66.7 percent (16-for-24) in the second half, and outrebounded the Saints by a 35-25 margin in the victory.
 
SJU only led by one (28-27) with 2:24 left in the first half, but scored the final six points to take a 34-27 lead into the break. The Johnnies broke open the game with a 10-1 run over a 3:34 span and led by as many as 24. 
 
Vaughn led the Johnnies with 23 points, a career-high nine rebounds and tied a career high with six three-pointers (6-for-9), a feat he has accomplished four times in his career including twice against St. Scholastica. 

SJU finished at 42.1 percent (8-for-19) from long range thanks to a 4-for-7 showing in the second half.
 
Post Mitchell Plombon '22 followed with 18 points on 8-for-9 shooting and six rebounds, while Thissen added 16 points.
 
Winesett was the lone scorer in double figures for CSS with a game-high 26 points.

Saint John's 68, at St. Scholastica 37 – Jan. 25, 2023
The Johnnies held St. Scholastica to 19.7 percent (12-for-61) shooting in a 68-37 road win last January. SJU, meanwhile, shot 55.8 percent (29-for-52) from the field, including 62.1 percent (18-for-29) in the second half.
 
Twelve Johnnies recorded a point or more, led by Thissen's 12. Post Carson Schoeller '23 was the other SJU participant in double figures with 11 points. He also grabbed eight rebounds in 19 minutes of play.
 
SJU outrebounded CSS, which finished 2-for-19 from three-point range, by a 51-24 margin.
 
The visitors held the Saints to 13.9 percent (5-for-36) in the first half and led by 12 (27-15) at halftime. SJU broke open a 35-21 lead by making eight consecutive shots over a 4:13 span in the second half to gain a 51-27 advantage with 11:08 remaining.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 11-0 all-time against the Saints on the hardwood. Last season's 68-37 victory on Jan. 25 was just the second meeting in Duluth.