Box Score
MORRIS, Minn. – No. 21 Saint John's doubled up Minnesota-Morris on the scoreboard by a 48-24 margin in the second half en route to an 87-60 win on Monday, Dec. 9.
The Johnnies (7-2, 2-0 MIAC) opened the second half with a 22-6 run thanks to a 9-for-13 shooting performance that featured a 4-for-7 output from three-point range. SJU, which climbed two spots to No. 21 in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 poll released prior to tonight's tip-off, made 51.4 percent (18-for-35) of its shots in the second half with a 7-for-15 showing (46.7 percent) from behind the arc to finish at 45.5 percent (30-for-66) for the game.
Senior wing
Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) led all scorers with 22 points – his third-consecutive 20-point game – on an 8-for-13 night from the floor and collected seven rebounds with three steals in 25 minutes of play. The 22 points enabled Thissen to pass Bernie Kukar '62 (1,389) for ninth in program history with 1,402 in his career, four behind Norb Kowalkowski '59 in eighth (1,406).
Senior guard
Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) was the other Johnnie in double figures with 14 points on a 4-for-8 performance from three-point land. The 14 points pushed Vaughn past Larry Bassett '92 (1,072), Tim Muller '71 (1,079) and Eric Kohorst '93 (1,080) for 30th on SJU's all-time scoring list with 1,085 for his career.
Senior guards
Blake Berg (West Fargo, N.D./Sheyenne) and
Zach Longueville (Eagan, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) added nine points apiece. Longueville dished out six assists and went 3-for-3 from three-point, while Berg added four assists. The Johnnies recorded 20 assists on the 30 made field goals and scored 14 points off 13 Minnesota-Morris (2-6, 0-0 UMAC) turnovers.
The visitors started the game 5-for-10 from three-point and built a 12-point lead (29-17) with 9:40 left in the first half, but went 8:31 between made field goals – going 0-for-11 (0-for-7 from three-point) – as the Cougars went on a 14-2 run to cut their deficit to just one (32-31). The Johnnies' lone made field goal was a traditional three-point play from Thissen with 1:08 left as SJU went 8-for-9 from the charity stripe during that span for a 39-36 halftime lead.
Pal Dak led UMM, which shot 33.3 percent (9-for-27) overall and 1-for-10 from three-point in the second half, with 16 points.
The Johnnies return to conference action with another 5:30 p.m. game at Saint Mary's (3-5, 0-1 MIAC) on Wednesday, Dec. 11, in Winona.
