No. 15 Saint John's hosts Bethel for a 7 p.m. tip-off on Wednesday, Jan. 8, in Collegeville. - Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM/95.7 FM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (11-2, 4-0 MIAC) shot a blistering 66.7 percent (16-for-24) from the field in the second half in a 79-61 win over Hamline on Saturday (Jan. 4) in Sexton Arena. The Johnnies finished at 55.6 percent (30-for-54) for the game, including a 10-for-17 (58.8 percent) performance from behind the arc to extend their win streak to seven games.

Hamline made its first two shots of the game, a pair of three-pointers, to gain a quick 6-0 lead as SJU missed its first four attempts from the field. The home team, however, made 13 of its next 18 shots (72.2 percent), including a 5-for-7 clip (71.4 percent) from three-point, and the Pipers went 3-for-15 (0-for-4 from deep) with three turnovers as SJU built a 31-14 lead with 7:06 left in the first half. Senior guard Blake Berg (West Fargo, N.D./Sheyenne) scored SJU's first 10 points.

HU closed the first half with an 8-2 run, including the last six points, to cut the Johnnies' lead to 10 (35-25) at the break.

The Johnnies answered the Pipers for the first four minutes of the second half and kept its lead to double digits for the remainder of the game. The margin reached its highest point at 21 (73-52, 75-54) twice under five minutes to play.

Berg led all scorers with 22 points on 9-for-13 shooting in 31 minutes of play. He also chipped in three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Senior wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) followed with 17 points on a 7-for-10 showing from the floor, including a perfect 3-for-3 mark from three-point land, with a team-high five rebounds in 26 minutes.

Senior guard Luke Healy (Hudson, Wis.) was the third Johnnie in double figures with 13 points in 16 minutes off the bench. He also added two rebounds and two steals.

Bradley Cimperman led the Pipers with 15 points on 5-for-13 shooting and six rebounds. HU shot 36 percent (9-for-25) from the field in the first half, including a 4-for-13 showing inside the three-point arc, and finished at 44.2 percent (23-for-52) overall.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Berg was named the MIAC Men's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week on Monday (Jan. 6) for his performance over the holidays. He shot 64.9 percent (24-for-37) from the field, including a 5-for-8 showing (.625) from three-point range, and averaged 19.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 29.7 minutes per game as the Johnnies went 3-0, including wins against a pair of 2024 NCAA Tournament teams to win Catholic's Tom McKavitt Classic Dec. 18-19 in Washington, D.C. 

In addition to Saturday's performance against Hamline, Berg led all scorers with 17 points and added three assists in 26 minutes of play Dec. 18 in a 71-55 win over Marymount (Va.) and followed that with 19 points and three assists in a 91-66 victory over Rowan (N.J.). B

Berg currently leads the MIAC in blocked shots (2.0 bpg.), is tied for second in assists (3.5 apg.) and third in shooting percentage (.690) in conference play.

IN THE RECORD BOOKS: Thissen is currently sixth in program history with 1,443 points, 37 behind Bill Sexton '55 in fifth (1,480). Senior guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.), meanwhile, is 23rd on SJU's scoring list with 1,132 points, four behind Darrick Buettner '91 in 22nd (1,136) and 21 from Aaron Burtzel '11 in 21st (1,153). Vaughn is currently second on SJU's list with 239 career three-pointers, 27 behind the record of 266 owned by David Stokman '19, and is also second in free-throw percentage (.890/243-for-273).

UP TO NO. 15: SJU vaulted six spots to No. 15 in last night's (Monday, Jan. 6) D3hoops.com Top 25 poll. Wisconsin-Platteville jumped four spots to No. 1 in tonight's poll, the first since Dec. 16, thanks to 15 of the 25 first-place votes and 601 points. Emory (Ga.) slipped to No. 2 with two first-place votes (580 points) and Trine (Ind.) was No. 3 with five first-place votes (572 points).

Four teams from NCAA's Region 9 were ranked in the top 25: Wisconsin-Platteville (No. 1), Wisconsin-La Crosse (No. 14), SJU (No. 15) and Wisconsin-Stevens Point (No. 16). Wisconsin-Oshkosh and Nebraska Wesleyan received votes.

NCAA STATS: SJU is currently (through games of Jan. 6) third in NCAA Division III in both free-throw percentage (.812) and fewest turnovers per game (9.2), 12th in assist/turnover ratio (1.57), 21st in scoring defense (61.7 ppg.) and 25th in scoring margin (+13.5 ppg.).

STAT COMPARISONS (rank is MIAC games only)
Scoring Offense
4. SJU, 75.3 ppg. (75.2 overall)
6. BU, 70.0 ppg. (79.4 overall)

Scoring Defense
1. SJU, 62.0 ppg. (61.7 overall)
4. BU, 65.7 ppg. (74.2 overall)

Shooting Percentage – Offense
2. SJU, .511 (.464 overall)
9. BU, .401 (.452 overall)

Shooting Percentage – Defense
2. BU, .397 (.335 overall)
4. SJU, .434 (.392 overall)

Three-Point Percentage – Offense
3. SJU, .402/41-for-102 (.372/122-for-328 overall)
10. BU, .274/20-for-73 (.335/111-for-331 overall)

Three-Point Percentage – Defense
1. BU, .254/16-for-63 (.281/66-for-235 overall)
6. SJU, .348/23-for-66 (.275/66-for-240 overall)

Free-Throw Percentage
1. BU, .800/44-for-55 (.731/166-for-227 overall)
3. SJU, .780/32-for-41 (.812/134-for-165 overall)

Rebounding
3. BU, 36.7 rpg. (37.8 overall)
5. SJU, 35.0 rpg. (36.9 overall)

Turnovers
1. BU, 8.0 tpg. (11.8 overall)
t4. SJU, 9.8 tpg. (9.2 overall)
 
A LOOK AT THE ROYALS: Bethel (9-3, 3-0 MIAC) returned to the win column, its sixth in the last seven games, with a 66-60 victory on Saturday (Jan. 4) at St. Olaf. Junior (6-foot-2) guard Payton Thomsen led the team with 18 points and another junior (6-foot-3) guard, Adam Mattes, added 16. Thomsen leads BU in scoring (19.6 ppg.), minutes (32.2 mpg.) and assists (57). Mattes and sophomore (6-foot-5) guard Nick Burke are next with an average of 14.9 points per game each. Mattes is a 53.9-percent shooter despite a 7-for-27 (.259) showing from three-point land so far this season.

LAST SEASON: SJU swept its season series with Bethel for the third-straight season in 2023-24.

Saint John's 83, at Bethel 67 (Jan. 10, 2024)
SJU repelled a furious rally by Bethel to earn an 83-67 win last Jan. 10 in Arden Hills. The visitors 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.

Junior guard Kyle Johnson (Prior Lake, Minn./DeLaSalle) 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 senior 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 Vaughn 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.

Zach Doely led the Royals with 20 points and six rebounds, while Burke (3-for-6) and Thomsen (3-for-5) both scored 13 points and combined to shoot 6-for-11 from behind the arc.

at Saint John's 79, Bethel 74 (Feb. 14, 2024)
The Johnnies finished at 56.4 percent (31-for-55) from the field for the game but found themselves down three (58-55) with 9:56 remaining. SJU responded, however, with an 11-0 run over the next 4:08 and eventually tied its largest lead of the game – nine – with 4:44 remaining. 

Thomsen drained three-pointers on three-straight possessions for Bethel and a pair of free throws from Caden Boettcher cut the Johnnies' lead to three (75-72) with 32 seconds left, but Vaughn went to the free-throw line with a one-and-one opportunity and made both. Brady Spaulding recorded his third steal of the game on the ensuing BU possession and Thissen sealed the win with two more free throws on the other end with 17 seconds on the clock.

Vaughn led SJU with 24 points, his third 20-point game of the season and eighth of his career, on 7-for-9 shooting. He went 3-for-4 from behind the three-point arc and a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe. 

Berg fell one rebound shy of a double-double with 19 points and nine boards. He also collected four assists. Thissen was the other Johnnie in double digits with 14 points.

Thomsen led all scorers with a game-high 28 points, 20 of which came in the second half. He finished 6-for-9 from long range and scored 13 of BU's final 16 points. Doely, like Berg, also fell one rebound from a double-double with 21 points and nine boards.

BU edged SJU on the glass, 29-27, but the Johnnies scored 16 points off 14 turnovers.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 67-30 against BU since the 1964-65 season, including a 42-9 record in Sexton Arena. The Johnnies have won 15 of the last 16 in Collegeville and 15 of the last 20 meetings overall.