Saint John's basketball begins conference play by hosting St. Olaf at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3, in Sexton Arena. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (2-3 overall) dropped a non-conference matchup to No. 3 Wisconsin-La Crosse 80-65 last Wednesday afternoon (Nov. 26). 

SJU faced shooting woes through the first half and was whistled for 21 personal fouls that La Crosse – which jumped four spots in the first D3hoops.com national poll released Nov. 24 – scored 27 points off of from the line. 

Both teams went nearly three minutes without a made field goal until junior post Vincent Hillesheim (Minneapolis, Minn./Hopkins) broke through with a hook shot for the Johnnies to make it 2-2 after UWL scored on free throws to open the game.  

But that was all SJU could muster up for the opening minutes of play, as the home team put up seven more quick points for a 9-2 lead early in the first half.  

Freshmen Peyton Podany (Anoka, Minn.) and Noah George (Roseville, Minn./Roseville Area) each hit a three-pointer to put Saint John's in double digits, but UWL shot 72.7 percent from the floor (8-for-11) and made eight of nine free throws in the final 10 minutes for a 42-26 lead at intermission. 

La Crosse guard Sam Grieger accounted for half of the team's points in the first half, totaling 21 on a pair of three-pointers, three free throws and a total of eight made from the floor in 18 minutes.  

Head coach Pat McKenzie '04 worked a number of non-starters in for the majority of the second half, coming up with 23 bench points – including eight from freshman post Evan Weichert (New Prague, Minn.) – after the break.  

Saint John's out-scored UW-La Crosse by one point, 39-38, in the second half, with 11 different players scoring on a 15-for-31 (48.4 percent) clip from the floor.  

La Crosse struggled from beyond the arc (3-for-20) but made up for it with 27 free throws on 32 attempts. The Johnnies grabbed 11 offensive rebounds to the Eagles' seven, but only converted three more second-chance points (9-6). The Johnnies missed six free throws and finished 5-for-28 from three-point range. 

Grieger led all scorers with 32 points on 11 of 16 shooting and 8 of 9 free throws. 

Hillesheim finished atop the stat sheet for the Johnnies with a career-high 15 points and six rebounds, five of which were offensive boards. He drew five fouls and made 5 of 8 free throws. 

Podany added eight points and six boards (five defensive), while junior guard Baiden Bean (Farmington, Minn.) led the team with four assists. Weichert joined Podany with eight points, all in the second half.  

MIAC OPENERS: SJU is 39-11 in the first MIAC game of the season since 1975-76, including a 27-3 record in Collegeville. SJU is 7-2 – 4-1 in Collegeville and 3-1 in Northfield – against St. Olaf in the first conference game during that span. 

A LOOK AT THE OLES: St. Olaf (3-4 overall) suffered an 85-65 defeat at undefeated Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 30). Freshman (6-foot-5) guard Max Kraay scored a career-high 21 points off the bench thanks to a 7-for-10 performance from the field, including a 5-for-7 showing from three-point range. UWEC, however, shot 55.4 percent (31-for-56) from the field. In addition to Kraay's 21-point performance, senior (6-foot-4) guard Kobe Kirk and sophomore (6-foot-6) forward AJ Uhl were in double figures in the loss. Kirk moved up two spots to fourth on the Oles' all-time scoring list with a 14-point afternoon, while Uhl hit a pair of three-pointers as part of an 11-point, five-rebound outing. St. Olaf was 13-for-30 (43.3 percent) from three-point range. Eau Claire made just six three-pointers in the game but more than made up for it with a 50-16 advantage in paint points and a 17-4 edge in free throws made, while committing just five turnovers.

UW-Eau Claire held St. Olaf scoreless for over six minutes as part of an extended 18-0 run that resulted in a 38-23 lead for the hosts with two minutes to go in the half before junior (5-foot-11) guard Chris Willis ended the Oles' drought at the free-throw line. UW-Eau Claire outscored St. Olaf by a 20-4 margin over the final 8:04 of the half and held a 36-6 advantage in points in the paint before the break.

Kirk hit a three-pointer in the first minute of the second half to get the Oles within 11, but that was as close as St. Olaf managed to get after halftime. Kraay scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half and Kirk added 12 points after the break, as the duo combined for 28 of St. Olaf's 39 second-half points.

Kirk leads the Oles with an average of 18.4 points per game so far this season, while Uhl (14.3 ppg.) and sophomore (6-foot-2) guard Rex Lamb (12.3 ppg.) are next in double digits.

LAST SEASON'S MEETINGS: SJU swept the regular-season series for the second-straight campaign in 2024-25.

at Saint John's 75, St. Olaf 60 (Dec. 4, 2024)
Then-No. 23 SJU out-rebounded the Oles by a 41-23 margin, including 10-5 on the offensive glass, which the home team turned into a 16-0 advantage in second-chance points en route to the MIAC-opening win.

STO scored a basket on its first possession of the second half to cut the Johnnies' lead to two (39-37), but SJU answered with a 13-3 run to gain its first double-digit lead of the game. The visitors battled back to within six (55-49) on a 9-3 advantage with 9:38 to play. The Johnnies responded with the game-clinching run – 10-3 – and led by as much as 17 with under a minute remaining. Wing Ryan Thissen '24 accounted for eight of the 10 points over the five-minute span and finished with a season-high 27 on 11-for-19 shooting.

SJU shot 52.2 percent (12-for-23) from the field in the second half, including an even 50 percent (4-for-8) from three-point range.

The Johnnies led by as much as nine (14-5) 5:30 into the game and by seven (24-17) with 9:06 left before the break, but the Oles put together a 12-4 run to gain their first lead of the game (29-28) at the 5:25 mark. Buckets on three-straight possessions gave the visitors another one-point lead (35-34) with 2:26 remaining before SJU closed the half with a trey from guard Zach Longueville '25 and a jumper from guard Blake Berg '24 to give the home team a 39-35 halftime lead.

Berg and guard Kooper Vaughn '25 followed Thissen with 12 points apiece. Berg added eight rebounds and two blocks.

Kirk led STO with 11 points on a 5-for-14 night from the floor.

Saint John's 78, at St. Olaf 54 (Jan. 29, 2025)
Then-No. 12 Saint John's extended its win streak to a dozen games with a 78-54 victory at St. Olaf back on Jan. 29. SJU shot 50.8 percent (30-for-59) from the floor, including 58.1 percent (18-for-31) in the second half, and out-rebounded St. Olaf by a 42-24 margin (13-6 on the offensive glass). The visitors also out-scored the Oles 50-18 in the paint and 16-8 in second-chance points.

The Johnnies held STO to 22.2 percent (6-for-27) from the field in the first half en route to a 30-17 halftime lead. The Oles opened the second half with a 20-11 run, thanks in large part to 11 points and a 3-for-3 showing from three-point land by Chris Willis, in the first 5:36 after the break to cut their deficit to just four (41-37). Longueville started a 12-2 advantage with a three-pointer on the ensuing possession and the Johnnies closed the game with a 25-10 run over the game's final 8:53.

Wings Griffin Rushin '25 and Thissen led all scorers with 20 points apiece. Thissen, the reigning MIAC Men's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week at the time, also added six rebounds and three assists. The 20 points were a career-high for Rushin off the bench.

Longueville ended the night with nine points, six assists and four rebounds. Post Connor Schwob '24 grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds to go with six points.

Kirk led the Oles with 13 points on a 3-for-13 evening from the field. STO, which entered the game shooting 69.2 percent from the free-throw line this season, finished a perfect 15-for-15 at the charity stripe and 32.7 percent (17-for-52) overall.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 78-36 against the Oles since the 1964-65 season, including a 49-9 record in Collegeville. SJU has won 13 of the last 15 meetings overall (16 of the last 19) and each of the last 11 in Sexton Arena.