The Johnnie basketball team hosts Concordia for a 3 p.m. tip-off on Saturday, Dec. 6, in Sexton Arena. – Live Stats | Live Video (no radio due to SJU Football)

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (2-4, 0-1 MIAC) dropped its MIAC opener to St. Olaf 77-69 on Wednesday night (Dec. 3) in Collegeville. SJU controlled the paint, outscoring STO 46-18 with a 43-36 advantage in rebounds, but free-throw attempts were 21-6 in favor of the visitors. The Johnnies doubled up the Oles 14-7 on the offensive glass for a 19-8 margin in second-chance points.

Senior guard Kyle Johnson (Prior Lake, Minn./DeLaSalle) returned for his first game after missing all of preseason practice and the season's first five contests due to injury. He struggled in his first 14 minutes, going 0-for-7 from the floor, but once he hit his first three-pointer, he finished 5-for-8 in the second half with three from beyond the arc and five rebounds. 

Freshman guard Henry Tschetter (Stewartville, Minn.) tallied a career-high 15 points, despite foul trouble for most of the game. He was 7-for-12 overall with five rebounds, three assists and a steal. Tschetter scored seven of the Johnnies' 27 points in the first half and added eight more with four fouls to his name. 

Sophomore post Charlie Theis (Cottage Grove, Minn./East Ridge) fouled out with 8:27 to play but went 4-for-12 in the game with a team-high nine rebounds (seven defensive) for 11 points. He added a block and a steal in 25 minutes of play.

Junior post Vincent Hillesheim (Minneapolis, Minn./Hopkins) finished with 10 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting with six rebounds in 23:29 played, adding three boards each on both ends of the court. 

St. Olaf took the lead four minutes into the game and never let it go, holding the Johnnies six or more points away on eight different occasions. Three different Oles hit three-pointers in the first half and went on a 12-point run seven minutes into the second, missing just one shot and grabbing every rebound off the glass during its run.

Kobe Kirk led the Oles with a game-high 27 points on 9 of 19 shooting (4-for-8 from three-point). He drew six fouls – while only being whistled for one – and made 5 of 6 free throws. He accounted for 19 of the Oles' 61 shots and four of the team's seven three-pointers. 

The Oles finished 18-for-21 from the charity stripe to the Johnnies' 5-for-6.

A LOOK AT THE COBBERS: Concordia (5-0, 0-0 MIAC) earned an 83-69 win Monday night (Dec. 1) at Minnesota-Morris. Over half of the Cobbers' points came from a pair of senior forwards who were named All-MIAC last season, (6-foot-6) Jacob Cook and (6-foot-8) Jackson Loge. Cook went 9 of 12 from the field for 23 points with six rebounds. He is averaging 22.8 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest. Loge added 21 points with nine rebounds, and is averaging 14.8 points and 13.4 boards per game. Two other starters,  freshman (6-foot-4) guard Payton Schell (16.4 ppg.) and senior (6-foot-1) guard Peyton Belka (12.8 ppg.), also average in double digits for points.

LAST SEASON: SJU swept the regular-season series in 2024-25.

Saint John's 75, at Concordia 60 (Jan. 15)
Then-No. 14 SJU ran its win streak to nine games with a 75-60 victory at Concordia back on 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 (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).

Guard Kooper Vaughn '25 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. 

Wing Ryan Thissen '24 totaled 13 points, six rebounds and three assists, while guard Luke Healy '25 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 and led CC with 14 points.

at Saint John's 80, Concordia 73 (OT; Feb. 8)
Then-No. 9 SJU outlasted Concordia for an 80-73 overtime win – the Johnnies' 15th-straight victory – the last time the two teams met on Feb. 8 in Sexton Arena.

Tied at 69-69, the Johnnies out-scored the Cobbers 11-4 in overtime, including a 7-0 margin at the free-throw line. SJU entered the game as the NCAA Division III at the charity stripe (.796) and finished at 72.4 percent (21-for-29). CC went 2-for-7 from the field in the extra session, including 0-for-4 from three-point range, after ending regulation at 50 percent (8-for-16) from long range.

A pair of free throws from Vaughn tied the game at 69-69 with 32 seconds remaining in the second half. With a two-second differential between the game and shot clocks, Cook drove to the basket seeking the game-winning points, but Vaughn drew the offensive foul with six ticks on the clock. Thissen missed a jumper in the closing seconds and wing Griffin Rushin's '25 put-back attempt rolled around the rim and out as the horn sounded.

SJU led by as much as eight (54-46) with 10:57 left thanks to a 14-3 run. The Cobbers, however, responded with a 17-9 run over the next 7:49.

Concordia shot an even 60 percent (15-for-25) from the floor, including 5-for-9 (55.6 percent) from behind the arc, in the first half but the game was tied at 37-37 thanks to SJU's 8-0 advantage in second-chance points.

Thissen led SJU with 17 points and seven rebounds in 40:11 played. Guard Blake Berg '24 was next with 13 points and five rebounds in just 20:26 of action due to foul trouble. He fouled out with 1:47 left in the second half.

Johnson was the third Johnnie in double digits with 12 points off the bench. His back-to-back three-pointers sparked the Johnnies' 14-1 run in the second half.

Cook led all scorers with 29 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a game-high 42:09 of play for CC. Nelson followed with 23 points. The duo combined to shoot 21-for-32 (.656), while the rest of the team combined for a 28-percent showing (7-for-25). Seven different Cobbers made a three-pointer.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 86-37 against Concordia since the 1964-65 season, including a 53-8 record in Collegeville. SJU has won 15 of the last 18 meetings in Sexton Arena. All three losses during the span were decided by three points or less: 80-79 on Feb. 5, 2024; 74-73 on Jan. 4, 2017; and 70-67 on Jan. 9, 2013.