Saint John's ventures south to face Gustavus Adolphus for a 3 p.m. tip-off on Saturday, Feb. 10, in St. Peter. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (18-5, 16-2 MIAC) locked up the MIAC regular-season championship outright and the top seed in the MIAC Playoffs with an 89-69 win over St. Olaf on Wednesday night (Feb. 7) in Sexton Arena.

The MIAC regular-season title is the Johnnies' 11th in program history and their fourth in the last six seasons (no MIAC season in 2020-21).

The Johnnies held St. Olaf without a field goal for the game's first 7:11 and shot 59.3 percent (16-for-27) from the field, including 13-for-17 (76.5 percent) inside the three-point arc, to build a 45-25 halftime lead.

SJU led by as much as 38 (85-47) with 7:51 remaining in the game before the Johnnies' top-11 (in terms of minutes) left the game for good.

Thirteen Johnnies scored a point or more, led by senior guard Brandon Adelman (New London, Minn./New London-Spicer) with 17 off the bench on 7-for-11 shooting. He also added four rebounds and three assists.

Junior wing Griffin Rushin (Baxter, Minn./Brainerd) followed with a career-high 16 points and five rebounds, also off the bench, and senior guard Blake Berg (West Fargo, N.D./Sheyenne) was the third Johnnie in double digits with 15 points on a perfect 6-for-6 night from the field in just 12 minutes of play. SJU outscored STO 54-17 in bench points, 21-8 on the fast break and 17-13 off turnovers.

SJU finished at 53.3 percent (32-for-60) for the game, to the Oles' 38.6 percent (22-for-57), and posted a 41-25 advantage on the glass.

200 CLUB: Junior guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) became the third player in SJU history to reach the 200 made three-pointers with a pair of treys in Wednesday night's win. Vaughn (200) is currently 32 three-pointers behind Patrick Strom '18 for second (232) and 66 behind David Stokman '19 for the program record (266). 

APPROACHING 16TH: Senior wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) inched his way toward 16th on SJU's all-time scoring list with six points on Wednesday, moving his career total up to 1,208. He is now nine points behind Tom Grudnowski '72 in 16th (1,217 points). Paul Henrichs '06 is 15th (1,238).

STAT COMPARISONS: SJU continues to lead the MIAC in five of the six major statistical categories in conference play. Saturday's game features the MIAC's top-two teams in scoring offense, shooting percentage and three-point percentage.

Scoring Offense
1. SJU, 86.0 ppg. (83.8 overall)
2. GAC, 80.0 ppg. (77.2 overall)

Scoring Defense
1. SJU, 68.1 ppg. (69.8 overall)
4. GAC, 70.9 ppg. (72.2 overall)

Shooting Percentage
1. SJU, .534 (.512 overall *No. 1 in Division III)
2. GAC, .499 (.492 overall *No. 10 in Division III)

Three-Point Percentage
1. SJU, .441 (.412 overall *No. 1 in Division III)
2. GAC, .401 (.387 overall *No. 7 in Division III)

Free-Throw Percentage
1. SJU, .793 (.807 overall *No. 3 in Division III) 
7. GAC, .700 (.691 overall)

Rebounding
2. GAC, 36.1 rpg. (35.5 overall)
5. SJU, 33.7 rpg. (33.8 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 (.512) and three-point percentage (.412), and third in free-throw percentage (.807). SJU is also seventh in fewest turnovers per game (9.5), 17th in scoring margin (+13.7 ppg.) and 18th in assist/turnover ratio (+1.44). Individually, Vaughn leads Division III in three-point percentage (.490/71-for-145) and is ninth in made three-pointers (71; 3.09 made per game). Gustavus enters Saturday's game seventh in three-point percentage (.387) and 10th in shooting percentage (.492).

A LOOK AT THE GUSTIES: Gustavus Adolphus (12-9, 11-5 MIAC) held Concordia to just 28 percent (14-for-50) from the field, including 12.5 percent (2-for-16) from three-point range, en route to a 65-44 victory on Wednesday night (Feb. 7) in Moorhead. Junior (6-foot-2) guard Brady Kienitz and junior (6-foot-5) forward Spencer Swanson led the Gusties with a game-high 19 points apiece. Swanson leads the team in scoring (19.2 ppg.), rebounding (9.1 rpg.), shooting percentage (.562), three-point percentage (.513) and assists (51). Senior (6-foot-6) post Wyatt Olson is averaging 13.0 points per game and senior (6-foot-4) forward Evan Wieker is the third Gustie averaging in double-figures with 12.5.
 
IN MID-JANUARY: SJU overcame a seven-point deficit with 4:29 remaining in a 73-70 win over Gustavus Adolphus earlier this season on Jan. 15 in Collegeville. 

SJU trailed by as much as nine (59-50) with 8:43 remaining but closed with a 15-5 run over the final 4:29, including a perfect 8-for-8 showing at the free-throw line. Junior post Luke Budzyn (St. Paul, Minn./East Ridge) started the comeback with a dunk and went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe on the next possession. Thissen made it a two-point game (65-63) at the 3:13 mark, but Dawson Kellen pushed the lead back to four for Gustavus with a driving layup. Unfortunately for the Gusties, Kellen's basket was the visitors' last made field goal of the night. GAC turned the ball over once, missed its final four shot attempts and went 1-for-2 at the free-throw line the rest of the way.

Thissen and junior guard Zach Longueville (Eagan, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) led the Johnnies with 16 points apiece. All of Longueville's 16 points came in the second half, including a stretch of seven straight over a span of two minutes. He also collected four steals and three assists. Vaughn was the third Johnnie in double figures with 13 points.

The Johnnies built a 16-8 lead at the 13:11 mark but proceeded to go 8:04 without a made field goal after as the Gusties gained their second lead of the contest. The lone points during the drought were two free throws from Adelman at the 11:08 mark. GAC closed the half with four-straight points to take a 33-27 lead into the break.

The game featured NCAA Division III's top-two shooting teams at the time – first-place SJU (.509) and second-place GAC (.507) – though the Gusties bested the Johnnies' 42.4 percent (25-for-59) by shooting 48.3 percent (28-for-58). Both teams shot 14-for-30 (46.7 percent) in the second half. GAC posted a 39-27 advantage on the glass, but the Johnnies totaled 16 points off 17 Gustie turnovers.

Swanson led Gustavus with a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds, and committed five turnovers. Olson followed with 20 points.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 69-59 against Gustavus since the 1964-65 season, but just 25-35 in St. Peter. The Johnnies have won each of the last 14 meetings overall, including six-straight at Gus Young Court.