Saint John's basketball travels to San Antonio, Texas, for No. 24 Trinity's Leslie Robinson Classic this Saturday-Sunday, Dec. 20-21. SJU faces the host Tigers at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, followed by a 1:30 p.m. tip-off vs. Hardin-Simmons (Texas) on Sunday.

LIVE COVERAGE
-Saturday, Dec. 20: Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video
-Sunday, Dec. 21: Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (4-5, 1-2 MIAC) earned its first road win of the season in resounding fashion, 99-63, over Northwestern on Tuesday night (Dec. 16) in Roseville.

The Johnnies shot 57.9 percent (22-for-38) from the field, including a 10-for-18 performance (55.6 percent) from three-point range, in the first half for a 56-35 lead. UNW scored the first point of the second half, but SJU answered with a 13-0 run and led by as much as 36 on three occasions after the break.

All 20 Johnnies appeared in the game, 13 of which scored a point or more, and eight made a three-pointer. The visitors registered a 50-26 advantage in rebounds, including a 15-6 advantage on the offensive glass, and posted a 56-19 margin in bench points.

Junior wing Jamison Lien (Prior Lake, Minn.) led six Johnnies in double figures with 12 points, on 5-for-6 shooting, and five rebounds off the bench.

Freshman guard Peyton Podany (Anoka, Minn.) drilled three treys for 11 points to go with five boards and three assists.

Four Johnnies – sophomore guard Liam Farniok (Minneapolis, Minn./Southwest), sophomore guard Justin Johnson (Prior Lake, Minn./DeLaSalle), sophomore post Charlie Theis (Cottage Grove, Minn./East Ridge) and freshman post Evan Weichert (New Prague, Minn.) – added 10 points apiece. Theis led SJU with seven boards.

Theis was SJU's offensive spark after tip, scoring eight of his team's first 13 points, while grabbing a pair of rebounds in his first four minutes on the court. Six of those points came from back-to-back three-pointers to set the Johnnies on the path to victory.

The Johnnies finished at 47.4 percent (36-for-76) overall and an even 40 percent (16-for-40) from behind the arc.

Senior guard Kyle Johnson (Prior Lake, Minn./DeLaSalle) and junior post Vincent Hillesheim (Minneapolis, Minn./Hopkins) posted eight points each, while freshman guard Henry Tschetter (Stewartville, Minn.) filled the stat sheet with six points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals in 16 minutes.

Hillesheim accounted for six points' in SJU's second half rampage, which featured a 5-for-6 team and six made free throws compared to Northwestern's 1-for-7 showing immediately after the break.

Noah Frazell led all scorers with 18 points for UNW, which made 36.5 percent (23-for-63) of its shots on the evening.

A PAIR OF FIRSTS: SJU's games against Trinity (Texas) and Hardin-Simmons (Texas) will be the first meetings between the programs on the hardwood.
    
A LOOK AT THE TIGERS: Trinity (7-2, 0-0 SAA) bounced back from its second loss of the season – 66-53 at St. Thomas (Texas) on Dec. 6 – with an 82-77 home win over Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) last Tuesday night (Dec. 9). Senior (6-foot-2) guard Zach Fenn led four Tigers in double digits with 18 points to go with five rebounds and four assists. Junior (6-foot-5) guard Dylan Walker leads the team in scoring (17.8 ppg.) but has missed the last three games. Sophomore (6-foot-9) forward Will Bronson is next with 11.1 points and team-best 8.4 rebounds per contest. Junior (6-foot-3) guard Dean Balo (10.6 ppg.) and sophomore (6-foot-5) forward Jackson Lawson (10.3 ppg.) are next in scoring. Trinity stayed at No. 24 in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 poll released Monday night (Dec. 15).

A LOOK AT THE COWBOYS: Hardin-Simmons (7-5, 0-0 ASC) extended its win streak to four games with a 98-66 home victory over NCCAA Arlington Baptist (Texas) on Monday night (Dec. 15). Junior (6-foot-8) forward Chris Bryant led the way with a career-high 31 points, on 13 of 17 shooting, eight rebounds and three blocks. He leads the team in scoring (16.6 ppg.), rebounding (7.2 rpg.) and blocked shots (26). Junior (6-foot-0) guard Silas Davis (11.9 ppg.) and junior (6-foot-6) forward Tyler Williams (10.5 ppg.) are next in scoring. The Cowboys take on Wisconsin-Stevens Point Saturday night at Trinity before Sunday's matinee against SJU.