Saint John's basketball closes its regular-season schedule by hosting Bethel at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 14, in Sexton Arena. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (19-5, 17-2 MIAC) overcame a season-high 21 turnovers by shooting 59.1 percent (26-for-44) from the field in a 66-64 win at Gustavus Adolphus on Saturday (Feb. 10).
 
A layup from senior post Connor Schwob (Waconia, Minn.) gave SJU a 61-55 lead with 5:42 remaining in the game, but the visitors scored only five points – all by senior guard Blake Berg (West Fargo, N.D./Sheyenne) – the rest of the way. A traditional three-point play from Berg made it 64-58 with 2:10 on the clock but back-to-back baskets from GAC cut the lead to two. Berg and the Gusties' Wyatt Olson exchanged buckets in the paint before the Johnnies' 21st turnover gave the home team the final possession of regulation with 6.4 seconds left. Adam Biewen's contested, three-point attempt hit the backboard and off the iron to seal the road win for SJU.
 
The Johnnies shot an impressive 73.7 percent (14-for-19) from the floor in the game's first 20 minutes but only took a 40-34 lead into the break thanks to a late three-pointer by GAC and 11 turnovers. SJU entered the game seventh in NCAA Division III in fewest turnovers per game at 9.5.
 
Berg led SJU with 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting, while senior wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) followed with 14 points and five rebounds. 
 
Sophomore guard Kyle Johnson (Prior Lake, Minn./DeLaSalle) was the third Johnnie in double figures with 10 points off the bench.
 
SJU out-rebounded GAC, 24-22, and finished at 50 percent (5-for-10) from three-point range and 9-for-11 (81.8 percent) from the charity stripe in the victory. The Johnnies took the court Saturday as the Division III leader in shooting percentage (.512) and three-point percentage (.412), and third in free-throw percentage (.807).
 
Spencer Swanson fell a rebound shy of a double-double with a game-high 23 points and nine rebounds for the Gusties. GAC finished at 40 percent (22-for-55) from the field, including a season-low 17.6 percent (3-for-17) from behind the three-point arc. The home team scored 19 points off the Johnnies' 21 turnovers, but SJU countered with 15 points off the 11 Gustie miscues.

UP TO 16TH, 16 FROM 15TH: Thissen's 14 points enabled him to pass Tom Grudnowski '72 (1,217) for 16th on SJU's all-time scoring list with 1,222. He is now 16 points behind Paul Henrichs '06 in 15th.

ONE WIN FROM 20: A win on Wednesday would give SJU basketball its 15th 20-win season in program history and fifth in eight seasons (not including the 2020-21 COVID season) under the direction of head coach Pat McKenzie '04. Two of the other three seasons ended with 19 wins (2015-16 and 2016-17) and the third was last year's 17-10 record.

SEE YOU NEXT WEEK: For the fourth time in the last six tournaments and the eighth time overall, SJU will be the No. 1 seed in next week's six-team MIAC Playoffs. The MIAC Playoff appearance is the team's 30th and 12th-consecutive (no tournament in 2020-21 due to COVID). SJU has a 29-21 record in the MIAC playoffs, including an 11-4 mark during McKenzie's tenure as head coach. 

STAT COMPARISONS: SJU continues to lead the MIAC in five of the six major statistical categories in conference play, while BU leads the league in rebounding. 

Scoring Offense
1. SJU, 84.9 ppg. (83.1 overall)
6. BU, 72.7 ppg. (73.7 overall)

Scoring Defense
1. SJU, 67.8 ppg. (69.6 overall)
5. BU, 72.3 ppg. (73.0 overall)

Shooting Percentage
1. SJU, .536 (.514 overall *No. 1 in Division III)
6. BU, .458 (.472 overall)

Three-Point Percentage
1. SJU, .443 (.414 overall *No. 2 in Division III)
7. BU, .350 (.358 overall)

Free-Throw Percentage
1. SJU, .794 (.807 overall No. 3 in Division III)
8. BU, .668 (.644 overall)

Rebounding
1. BU, 36.2 rpg. (33.4 overall)
6. SJU, 33.2 rpg. (35.7 overall)

LEADING DIVISION III: As noted above, the Johnnies are in NCAA Division III's top three in three statistical categories: the national leader in shooting percentage (.514), second in three-point percentage (.414), and third in free-throw percentage (.807). SJU is also eighth in fewest turnovers per game (10.0) and 17th in scoring margin (+13.3 ppg.). Individually, junior guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) leads Division III in three-point percentage (.486/71-for-146) and is 19th in made three-pointers (71; 2.96 made per game). 

A LOOK AT THE ROYALS: Bethel (12-11, 9-9 MIAC) ended its three-game homestand with a narrow 81-78 loss to Carleton last Saturday (Feb. 10). After trailing by double digits for most of the game, the Royals were able to gain a two-point lead with 3:43 remaining. After trading baskets down the stretch, BU found itself down two with six seconds left and Carleton at the free-throw line. The Knights went one of two from the charity stripe but a last-second, three-point attempt from sophomore (6-foot-3) guard Adam Mattes rimmed in and out as the final horn sounded. Sophomore (6-foot-2) guard Payton Thomsen leads the Royals in scoring at 17.5 points per game, while senior (6-foot-7) forward Zach Doely is fifth in Division III in shooting percentage (.656) and leads the Royals in rebounding (9.7) and blocks (27). He is averaging 16.3 points per game. Freshman (6-foot-5) guard Nick Burke is the third Royal averaging in double digits with 11.1 points per contest. 

LAST MONTH: Saint John's repelled a furious rally by Bethel to earn an 83-67 win back on Jan. 10 at the Robertson Center. SJU led by 21 (52-31) just 1:26 into the second half, but Bethel made 10 of its first 12 shots after halftime, including a 4-for-4 performance from three-point land, to cut the Johnnies' lead to one (55-54) with 12:18 to play.
 
Johnson gave the visitors some breathing room with a pair of baskets and SJU gained a seven-point lead (63-56) thanks to a put-back from junior post Luke Budzyn (St. Paul, Minn./East Ridge) and a fast-break bucket, off his own blocked shot, from Berg with 8:09 remaining.
 
Nick Burke drained a three-pointer at the 7:36 mark to cut the Royals' deficit to four (63-59), but that was the closest they would get the rest of the way. BU made just one of its next five shots and turned the ball over twice. The Johnnies, meanwhile, scored points on five-straight possessions to re-gain a double-digit lead for good.
 
Thissen led all scorers and four Johnnies in double digits with 21 points – his third 20-point game of the season and 20th of his career – on a 10-for-15 shooting performance. He grabbed five rebounds and dished three assists. 
 
Down 18-16 with 12:22 left in the first half, the Johnnies went on a 23-6 run over the next eight minutes to take a 48-29 lead into halftime. SJU shot 63.3 percent (19-for-30) from the field and went 5-for-6 from three-point in the first half, but made just two of its 12 three-point attempts after halftime. Overall, the visitors finished at 55.9 percent (33-for-59) from the floor and scored 15 points off 11 BU turnovers.
 
Berg followed Thissen with 18 points and five rebounds, while junior guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) totaled 12 points on a 4-for-9 showing from behind the arc. 
 
Johnson was the fourth Johnnie in double figures with 11 points off the bench. Berg (10), Thissen (9) and Johnson (6) scored 25 of the team's 35 points in the second half.
 
Doely led the Royals with 20 points and six rebounds, while Nick Burke (3-for-6) and Thomsen (3-for-5) both scored 13 points and combined to shoot 6-for-11 from behind the arc.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 66-30 against BU since the 1964-65 season, including a 41-9 record in Sexton Arena. The Johnnies have won 14 of the last 15 in Collegeville and 14 of the last 19 meetings overall.