Box Score

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Blake Berg (West Fargo, N.D./Sheyenne) did almost everything a player could do to lift his team to victory Thursday night.

The Saint John's University senior guard finished with a career-best 28 points, including a 3-pointer to tie the score with four seconds left to play.

Unfortunately for the Johnnies (20-6 overall), though, Hamline junior Bradley Cimperman proved equally outstanding, scoring 26 and hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer that lifted the fourth-seeded Pipers to an 83-80 upset of top-seeded SJU in the MIAC semifinals before a raucous crowd of 2,023 at Sexton Arena.

"There's not a whole lot of words to describe what it feels like right now," Berg said afterward. "We wanted to put it all on the line. We just didn't get the job done tonight."

Cimperman - who was 0-for-7 from 3-point range in a victory over Concordia in the quarterfinals Tuesday - finished 4-for-4 from beyond the arc Thursday. He finished 8-for-12 from the field. 

The Pipers shot 30-for-53 (56.6 percent) as a team, the best percentage for an opponent against the Johnnies since a non-conference loss to Wisconsin-Oshkosh on Nov. 12, 2021; a span of 78 games.

Hamline finished 8-for-15 from 3-point range - a season-best 53.3 percent.

"They obviously were shooting it really well," said SJU head coach Pat McKenzie '04, who was trying to call timeout after Berg's 3-pointer, but was unable to get play stopped. "When a team's shooting it well, you can't afford a lot of breakdowns. We had some breakdowns defensively that led to easy baskets. And we had a number of turnovers that led to run-outs and easy baskets. 

"You can withstand maybe one or two of those things, but if a team's shooting it well and you're turning it over for easy baskets and breaking down defensively, it's hard to win."

The Johnnies led by as much as six in the first half, but a layup by senior Jake Veldman with 23 seconds to go tied the score 41-41 at halftime. SJU built its lead back to five - 46-41 - when Berg hit a layup and free throw with 18:38 to go. 

From there, though, the Pipers seized the momentum - going up by as much as nine twice, including at 72-63 on a jumper by junior Mick Wherley with 4:31 remaining.

At that point, no SJU player besides Berg had scored in double figures. But senior wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) came on strong down the stretch, scoring 10 of his 19 points in the final 4:13 of play - including eight-straight capped by a 3-pointer that cut the gap to 74-68 with 3:34 still on the clock.

"I knew we were down and I was just trying to make plays," said Thissen, who now has 1,255 career points - moving him past Paul Henrichs '06 and into 15th place in program history. "That's all I was trying to do."

The Johnnies continued to chip away from there, finally tying the score when Berg - who finished 2-for-3 from beyond the arc - connected for three with four seconds to go.

But it was Cimperman who hit the night's final shot, draining his 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded and sending Hamline into a championship game matchup against No. 3 seed Gustavus Adolphus at 7 p.m. Saturday in St. Peter. 

The Gusties outlasted No. 2 seed Carleton 124-116 in double overtime in Thursday's other semifinal.

"Shock and surreal would be the way I'd describe how I'm feeling right now," Thissen said. "(Cimperman) is a really good player and he made a really great play. You have to take your hats off to Hamline. They played well enough to win. 

"But this one hurts."

The winner between Hamline and Gustavus (17-10 overall) will earn the MIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs. SJU, which fell to 20-6 overall, will have to hope for an at-large bid when the tournament pairings are announced at noon (CST) Monday on NCAA.com. 

"We're obviously going wait and see," said McKenzie, whose team was ranked No. 6 in the most recent Region 9 rankings. "A number of things would have to fall our way for that to happen. We'll just have to see how things go."

"This isn't the position we wanted to be in," Berg added. "But there's still a chance that we get in. We just have to hope things go our way.

•    SJU entered play Thursday ranked No. 1 in the nation in Division III in overall shooting percentage (.516) and 3-point shooting percentage (.414). Against the Pipers, the Johnnies finished 30-for-57 (52.6 percent) from the field, but 7-for-23 (30.4 percent) from behind the three-point arc.

•    Hamline finished with 13 points off turnovers to SJU's two.

•    Cimperman finished with eight rebounds. Pipers junior Austin Holt had 24 points and 12 rebounds, nine on the defensive end.