Box Score
PELLA, Iowa – No. 12 Saint John's obliterated a four-point, halftime deficit with a 20-2 run to start the second half en route to a 78-60 win at Central on Friday night, Nov. 15.
SJU (2-0 overall) shot 52.8 percent (19-for-36) and out-rebounded the Dutch (0-1 overall) 20-15 in the second half. The key for the Johnnies was their defense, however, as the visitors held Central to 32 percent (8-for-25) from the floor, including 1-for-11 (9.1 percent) from three-point range, and scored 18 points off 10 turnovers in the game's final 20 minutes.
Senior guard
Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) led four Johnnies in double figures with 21 points for the 10th 20-point game of his career. The performance enabled Vaughn to climb past Corey Jackson '96 (1,015), Nate Guetter '99 (1,018) and Kipp Christianson '97 (1,025) into 38th on SJU's all-time scoring list with 1,028 career points.
Senior guard
Blake Berg (West Fargo, N.D./Sheyenne) followed with 18 points, including 13 in the second half, and added seven rebounds.
Senior wing
Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) chipped in 12 points and senior guard
Zach Longueville (Eagan, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) made all three of his three-point attempts and was next with 11 points, as well as six rebounds and five assists.
Senior wing
Connor Schwob (Waconia, Minn.) totaled eight points, seven rebounds and three steals.
The Dutch erased a one-point deficit (27-26) with a 10-1 run before SJU closed the first half with the final four points from Thissen to cut the home team's lead to 36-32 at the break.
Central's 6-foot-10 center Joshua Van Gorp, an All-American and the American Rivers Conference (ARC) Most Valuable Player last season, was the Dutch's lone player in double digits with 29 points in addition to 11 rebounds.
SJU finished at 47.7 percent (31-for-65) for the game, including 40.9 percent (9-for-22) from behind the arc, to Central's 40-percent output (22-for-55) and 4-for-24 showing from long range. The Johnnies added 15 second-chance points on 11 offensive rebounds.
The Johnnies continue their trip in the Hawkeye State with a 6 p.m. game at Simpson on Saturday, Nov. 16, in Indianola, Iowa. Augsburg defeated the Storm (1-2 overall) tonight with a 74-59 score.
