Saint John's basketball visits Concordia for a 7:45 p.m. game on Wednesday, Jan. 28, in Moorhead. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Sophomore guard Justin Johnson (Prior Lake, Minn./DeLaSalle) and junior guard Baiden Bean (Farmington, Minn.) each finished with 21 points as Saint John's (10-8, 6-3 MIAC) rolled past Saint Mary's 95-71 this past Saturday (Jan. 24) in Sexton Arena. Johnson hit six 3-pointers, including four in the first half.
 
The Johnnies jumped out to a 14-5 lead early, led by sophomore guard Liam Farniok (Minneapolis, Minn./Southwest) who had seven points over that stretch. The Cardinals trimmed the gap to as little as five (27-22) on a basket by John Palmer with 6:47 to play before halftime.
 
But that's when Johnson began to heat up, hitting three 3-pointers and adding a layup down the stretch to send SJU into halftime up 50-36. The Johnnies finished 19-for-32 (59.4 percent) from the field as a team in the first half and connected on eight of 14 shots (57.1 percent) from behind the 3-point line. SJU also boasted a 22-9 edge in rebounding.

The Cardinals - who were outrebounded 45-23 by the Johnnies - pulled no closer than 11 points in the second half. Bean had 15 of his points after halftime.

Sophomore post Charlie Theis (Cottage Grove, Minn./East Ridge) finished with 14, while Farniok added 11 and a team-best six rebounds.

BEAN WEEK: Bean shot 66.7 percent (16-24) from the field, including 66.7 percent (6-9) from three-point range, and averaged 21.5 points, 6.0 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals as SJU went 1-1 last week in MIAC play. He is shooting 59.1 percent (26-for-44) overall and 56.3 percent (9-for-16) from three-point with an average of 13.6 points, 6.4 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 2.6 steals over SJU's last five games.

STAT COMPARISONS (ranked by conference play)
Scoring Offense
3. SJU, 78.9 ppg. (77.9 overall)
4. CC, 78.8 ppg. (77.1 overall)

Scoring Defense
3. SJU, 72.1 ppg. (74.7 overall)
7. CC, 76.4 ppg. (71.3 overall)

Shooting Percentage
2. SJU, .489 (.468 overall)
7. CC, .462 (.449 overall)

Shooting Percentage – Defense
2. CC, .432 (.401 overall)
6. SJU, .454 (.446 overall)

Three-Point Percentage
3. SJU, .395/109-276 (.342/179-524 overall)
8. CC, .319/69-216 (.328/136-415)

Three-Point Percentage – Defense
6. CC, .349/84-241 (.310/162-523 overall)
8. SJU, .355/65-183 (.344/124-360 overall)

Free-Throw Percentage
7. CC, .733/118-161 (.697/264-379 overall)
9. SJU, .690/80-116 (.659/172-261 overall)

Free-Throw Percentage – Defense
8. SJU, .749/134-179 (.755/278-368 overall)
11. CC, .778/126-162 (.721/189-262 overall)

Rebounding
1. CC, 38.1 rpg. (40.6 overall)
3. SJU, 36.6 rpg. (37.3 overall)

A LOOK AT THE COBBERS: Concordia (13-5, 5-4 MIAC) won its third-straight – 79-74 at Bethel – on Saturday (Jan. 24) in Arden Hills. The Cobbers scored 42 points in the paint, shot 52.5 percent (31-for-59) from the field and received a combined 48 points from senior (6-foot-8) forward Jackson Loge and senior (6-foot-6) forward Jacob Cook. Loge finished with 23 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks, while Cook led all scorers with 25 points, added eight rebounds, and went a perfect 6-for-6 at the free-throw line. Cook (20.7 ppg./10.4 rpg.) and Loge (14.7 ppg./11.3 rpg.) both average a double-double this season.

EARLIER THIS SEASON: SJU shot 40.7 percent (11-for-27) from three-point range to hand Concordia its first loss of the season – 82-65 – earlier this season on Dec. 6 in Collegeville. The Johnnies out-rebounded the Cobbers 43-29, including a 12-5 margin on the offensive glass, for a 20-9 advantage in second-chance points.

After the Johnnies were only 22.2 percent from three (6 of 27) the previous game, SJU got makes from four different players, including senior guard Kyle Johnson (Prior Lake, Minn./DeLaSalle), who was playing in just his second game this season after missing due to injury.

Johnson led the Johnnies with 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting, 4-for-6 from three-point range, with two assists and two steals.

The score was deadlocked between the two teams five times and the lead changed double that, but Bean free throws right before halftime gave SJU the cushion it needed to carry its lead for the rest of the game. 

Concordia worked its way back within four points in the second half, but a 10-4 SJU run, which featured five points out of the hands of freshman guard Hudson Hochstedler (Monticello, Minn.) put the game out of reach.

Saint John's had 18 more points left in its offense after the breaking point, delivering Concordia its first loss off the season.

Bean finished behind Johnson with a solid stat sheet – 13 points, six assists and five rebounds – in 27 minutes off the bench. Theis was next with 10 points on 3-for-7 shooting with two rebounds in 19 minutes.

Cook led all scorers with 22 points, on 8 of 14 shooting, in 30 minutes. Loge (5-for-15) and senior (6-foot-1) guard Peyton Belka (5-for-11) were next with 12 points apiece

Junior wing Jamison Lien (Prior Lake, Minn.) controlled the boards with 12 rebounds – six on each end of the court – alongside eight points (3-for-5) and three assists.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 87-37 against Concordia since the 1964-65 season, but just 33-29 in Moorhead during that span. SJU has won 14 of the last 16 meetings overall.