Box Score

NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Saint John's basketball stifled Carleton in the second half of a 70-51 victory on Saturday, Jan. 17 at West Gymnasium in Northfield.

The Johnnies (9-7, 5-2 MIAC) trailed by two points at halftime, 29-27, before outscoring the Knights 43-22 over the final 20 minutes thanks to a 21-0 run. 

SJU shot 41.7 percent (10-for-24) from the field and 50 percent (6-for-12) from three-point in the opening half but surrendered 20 points in the paint to the home team, which gathered four steals on seven Johnnie turnovers. A layup from junior wing Jamison Lien (Prior Lake, Minn.) with 9:27 left gave SJU the lead briefly at 19-15, but the visitors fell scoreless for the next 7:37 until freshman guard Peyton Podany (Anoka, Minn.) snapped the drought with a three-pointer at the 1:51 mark to cut Carleton's lead to 24-22.

Carleton (9-8, 5-3 MIAC) scored the first basket of the second half on the inbound, but sophomore guard Liam Farniok (Minneapolis, Minn./Southwest) and Podany fed a 21-0 run to take over the game and the lead for good, 48-21. Farniok scored 12 points – all on three-pointers – and Podany put up five with a pair of rebounds and an assist. 

SJU's defense kept the Knights scoreless for more than eight minutes (0-for-7) and forced a total of eight turnovers in the second half, in addition to a favorable margin of 20-14 off the boards and a pair of blocks from junior guard Baiden Bean (Farmington, Minn.). The Johnnies also held Carleton's Matt Drake, who entered play Saturday as the third-leading scorer in the MIAC at 20 points per game, scoreless on 0-for-11 shooting in 29 minutes played.

Podany, who was battling illness ahead of the game, finished with a game-high 17 points on 6 of 13 shooting. He was 5-for-8 from beyond the arc, with four of his long-range daggers coming in the first half. He also added three assists and three rebounds. 

Farniok finished with 15 points, all in the second half, on 5 of 9 from three-point. He also posted four assists and three rebounds. 

Bean, who had a point-assist double-double earlier in the week, registered four assists, three rebounds and two steals in addition to his second-half blocks. 

Sophomore guard Justin Johnson (Prior Lake, Minn./DeLaSalle) and Lien each scored nine points off the bench. Johnson's total came from 3-for-7 shooting from three, while Lien was 4-for-4 from the floor with six rebounds, two fouls drawn and a steal in 17 minutes. 

The Johnnies travel to face Bethel (6-9, 3-4 MIAC) for a 7 p.m. contest on Wednesday, Jan. 21, in Arden Hills.