Box Score

WASHINGTON, D.C. – No. 21 Saint John's basketball opened Catholic's Tom McKavitt Classic with a 71-55 win over Marymount (Va.) on Wednesday, Dec. 18.

The Johnnies (9-2, 3-0 MIAC) face Rowan (N.J.) in the tournament's championship game at 3 p.m. ET Thursday, Dec. 19. The Profs (6-3, 4-1 NJAC) shot 51.7 percent (30-for-58) from the floor and 52 percent (13-for-25) from three-point range defeat the host, No. 24 Catholic, 85-71 in the day's second game.

SJU made 13 of its first 17 shot attempts, including a 3-for-3 performance from three-point range, to build a 29-12 lead with 9:09 on the clock. A three-pointer from junior guard Kyle Johnson (Prior Lake, Minn./DeLaSalle) gave the Johnnies a 23-point lead (39-16) with 4:30 left before halftime, but Marymount (6-4, 0-0 AEC) closed with a 7-0 run for a 39-23 advantage at the break.

The Saints cut their deficit to as little as 13 (45-32) at the 15:08 mark of the second, but proceeded to make only one of their next nine shots as SJU went on an 18-4 run over an 8:27 span to build its largest lead of the game – 27 (63-36) – with 6:41 left to play.

Senior guard Blake Berg (West Fargo, N.D./Sheyenne) led all scorers with 17 points and added three assists in 26 minutes of play. He had 13 points on 6-for-7 shooting in the first half alone.

Johnson added 11 points, thanks to a 3-for-4 performance from behind the arc, in 17 minutes off the bench and senior guard Zach Longueville (Eagan, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) was the third Johnnie in double digits with 10 points.

SJU finished with season highs in shooting percentage (.525), three-point percentage (.471) and blocked shots (5) in the win. The Johnnies shot 56.7 percent (17-for-30) in the first half to the Saints' 28.1 percent (9-for-32).

Marymount had three players with eight points and ended at 33.9 percent (19-for-56) for the game. The Saints collected a 35-32 edge in rebounds, including a 15-7 advantage on the offensive glass, but only mustered a 12-11 margin in second-chance points.