No. 14 Saint John's plays host to St. Scholastica for a 1 p.m. tip-off on Saturday, Jan. 18, in Collegeville. - Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM/95.7 FM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (13-2, 6-0 MIAC) ran its win streak to nine games with a 75-60 victory at Concordia on Wednesday night (Jan. 15) in Moorhead.

The Johnnies shot 56.7 percent (17-for-30) from the field in the first half, including an even 50 percent (5-for-10) performance from three-point land, and finished at 48.4 percent (30-for-62) for the game. The visitors closed the first half with a 13-4 run over the final 3:51 for a 44-26 halftime lead and led by as much as 26 (71-45) with 4:59 to play.

SJU out-rebounded Concordia, the MIAC's leader in conference play at the time (41.0 rpg.), by a 29-26 margin and held the Cobbers to 25 percent (4-for-16) from three-point (38.5 percent overall). The Johnnies entered play 15th in NCAA Division III in three-point defense (.268).

Senior guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) led all scorers with 23 points on an 8-for-11 night from the floor, including a 5-for-7 showing from behind the arc. He was 5-for-5 (3-for-3 from deep) in the first half alone and also tied for the team lead with six rebounds in 26 minutes of action. 

Senior wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) totaled 13 points, six rebounds and three assists, while senior guard Luke Healy (Hudson, Wis.) added 12 points in 16 minutes off the bench.

A 57.4-percent (31-for-54) shooter from the free-throw line this season, Rowan Nelson went 8-for-8 from the charity stripe Wednesday night and led CC with 14 points.

RECORD BOOK WATCH: Thissen is sixth in program history with 1,466 points, 14 behind Bill Sexton '55 in fifth (1,480). Vaughn, meanwhile, is tied with Bill Christopherson '53 for 20th on the scoring list with 1,164, two behind Tom Melancon '68 in 19th (1,166). Zach Hanson '21 is 18th (1,168). Vaughn is currently second in school history 247 career three-pointers, 19 behind the record of 266 owned by David Stokman '19, and is also second in free-throw percentage (.891/245-for-275).

NCAA LEADER: The Johnnies currently (through games of Jan. 16) lead all of NCAA Division III in free-throw percentage (.807), are second in fewest turnovers per game (9.0), eighth in assist/turnover ratio (+1.67), 13th in scoring margin (+14.4 ppg.), 15th in three-point defense (.267) and 17th in scoring defense (62.1 ppg.).

STAT COMPARISONS
Scoring Offense
2. SJU, 78.7 ppg. (76.6 overall)
8. CSS, 69.3 ppg. (74.4 overall)

Scoring Defense
1. SJU, 63.0 ppg. (62.1 overall)
11. CSS, 79.5 ppg. (78.7 overall)

Shooting Percentage – Offense
2. SJU, .539 (.481 overall)
9. CSS, .424 (.434 overall)

Shooting Percentage – Defense
3. SJU, .422 (.393 overall)
9. CSS, .482 (,465 overall)

Three-Point Percentage – Offense
2. SJU, .429/60-140 (.385/141-366 overall)
9. CSS, .345/50-145 (.338/123-364)

Three-Point Percentage – Defense
1. SJU, .298/34-114 (.267/77-288 overall)
9. CSS, .398/53-133 (.384/128-333)

Free-Throw Percentage
2. SJU, .769/40-52 (.807/142-176 overall)
11. CSS, .632/48-76 (.660/157-238)

Rebounding
5. SJU, 33.7 rpg. (36.1 overall)
t6. CSS, 33.5 rpg. (34.0 overall)

Turnovers
1. SJU, 7.2 tpg. (9.0 overall)
11. 13.8 tpg. (13.8 overall)

A LOOK AT THE SAINTS: St. Scholastica (6-9, 2-4 MIAC) suffered a 112-76 loss last Saturday (Jan. 11) at Gustavus Adolphus. The Gusties shot 65.7 percent (44-for-67) from the field, including a 15-for-24 performance (62.5 percent) from three-point range. Junior (5-foot-10) guard Koy Nelson led CSS with 23 points on 7-for-14 shooting. Nelson leads the team in scoring (13.2 ppg.), assists (36) and three-pointers (34-for-91). Sophomore (6-foot-6) forward Aaron Keykal is close behind at 12.3 points per contest to go with a team-best 8.6 rebounds and .675 shooting percentage.

THE 2023-24 MEETINGS: The Johnnies won both meetings last season with a pair of high-scoring outputs.

Saint John's 85, at St. Scholastica 55 (Jan. 6, 2024)
SJU shot 54.7 percent (29-for-53) from the field and scored 34 points off 23 St. Scholastica turnovers.

The Johnnies shot 60.9 percent (14-for-23) in the second half, including 54.5 percent (6-for-11) from three-point range, and led by as much as 34 (74-40) with 9:37 remaining. Nine Johnnies scored five points or more in the victory.

SJU broke a 27-27 tie by closing the first half with a 15-6 run over the final 4:26 to take a 42-33 lead into halftime. The visitors burst out of the locker room with a 13-3 run and never looked back. 

Vaughn led three Johnnies in double digits with 12 points. He went 2-for-3 from long range. Senior guard Blake Berg (West Fargo, N.D./Sheyenne) and junior guard Kyle Johnson (Prior Lake, Minn./DeLaSalle) followed with 11 points apiece.

Senior wing Griffin Rushin (Baxter, Minn./Brainerd) provided a spark in the first half with nine points on a perfect 3-for-3 showing from behind the arc, while senior post Luke Budzyn (St. Paul, Minn./East Ridge) made his first appearance since Nov. 21 due to injury and totaled nine points in the second half.

Noah Winesett led CSS with 13 points in 13 minutes played. The Saints shot 33.3 percent (9-for-27) in the second half and finished at 39.3 percent (22-for-56) for the game.

The 23 turnovers were the most committed against SJU since Dec. 15, 2011 (23 in a 73-58 win at Minnesota-Morris) and the 34 points off turnovers were the most for the Johnnies since Jan. 17, 2009 (37 points off 22 miscues in an 81-54 home victory over Hamline).

at Saint John's 101, St. Scholastica 62 (Feb. 3, 2024)
The Johnnies set a single-game, school record with 21 three-pointers in the win. SJU shot 55.6 percent (35-for-63) from the field in the game, including 61.8 percent (21-for-34) from behind the three-point arc. The 21 three-pointers shattered the previous record of 17, which was registered three times: vs. Bethany Lutheran (March 2, 2018); vs. Minnesota-Morris (Nov. 19, 2016); and at Macalester (Jan. 23, 2013).

Vaughn tied the Johnnies' individual record for made three-pointers with 11 (11-for-16) held by Larry Bassett '92 (Feb. 12, 1992, at Macalester) and finished with 38 points and a team-high five rebounds in just 24:30 of play. The 38 points were the most by a Johnnie in a single game since Darrick Buettner '91 tallied 39 in a 93-74 home win over Concordia-Moorhead on Jan. 28, 1989.

Vaughn scored 14 of SJU's first 16 points to give the home team a 16-5 lead 3:54 into the game. The Johnnies shot 65.6 percent (21-for-32) from the field, including 68.8 percent (11-for-16) from long range, in the first half to take a 56-29 lead into halftime.

Brandon Adelman '24 made his first collegiate start and scored 11 points with a career-high nine assists. Of his nine assists, seven of them led to three-pointers, five for Vaughn. The nine assists were the most by a Johnnie since Garrett Goetz '18 collected nine against Gustavus Adolphus on Jan. 29, 2018. SJU totaled 28 assists on 35 made field goals on the afternoon, which were the most since the team posted 36 against Macalester on Jan. 17, 2018, in Collegeville.

Rushin was the third Johnnie in double figures with 10 points off the bench. Thirteen Johnnies scored a point or more in the victory.

Moe Washington led St. Scholastica with 14 points off the bench. CSS shot 41.5 percent (22-for-53) from the floor and 42.9 percent (9-for-21) from three-point, but SJU scored 27 points off 15 Saint turnovers.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 13-0 all-time against St. Scholastica on the basketball court, including a 5-0 record in Collegeville.