Box Score

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Saint John's junior guard Baiden Bean (Farmington, Minn.) drained a three-pointer with 0.3 seconds remaining to give the Johnnies an 84-81 win over Augsburg on Saturday, Jan. 3, at Si Melby Hall.

Down by one (79-78) with just under three minutes remaining, a trio of Johnnies (5-7, 2-2 MIAC) went 1-for-2 at the free-throw line to provide the game's scoring over the next 1:43 and give the visitors an 81-79 lead.

Elias Batala, who finished with a game-high 25 points, evened the score for the seventh time of the half (11th time of the game) for Augsburg (9-3, 3-1 MIAC) with a pair of free throws in the ensuing possession. Both teams missed shots in the paint before sophomore post Charlie Theis (Cottage Grove, Minn./East Ridge) grabbed the defensive rebound with 27 seconds left. The Johnnies inbounded the ball against the Auggies' full-court press and called a timeout prior to a 10-second violation. Bean took the ensuing inbounds pass with 17.6 seconds on the clock and possessed it for the first 12 seconds before tossing the ball to freshman guard Peyton Podany (Anoka, Minn.) at the top of the key. Bean settled into the right corner, took a dribble to his left and drained the game-winning trey in front of his bench.



Podany fell two assists shy of a triple-double, his second collegiate double-double, with 23 points, 10 rebounds and the eight helpers. He finished 8-for-13 from the field and 5-for-9 from three-point range for an SJU team that was without its leading scorer (15.8 ppg.), senior guard Kyle Johnson (Prior Lake, Minn./DeLaSalle), due to injury.

SJU shot 57.1 percent (12-for-21) from the field in the second half to finish at 54.7 percent (29-for-53) for the game.

A pair of Johnnies reached double figures for points off the bench. Theis collected 16 points and five rebounds, while junior wing Jamison Lien (Prior Lake, Minn.) added 12 points. Freshman guard Henry Tschetter (Stewartville, Minn.) tallied 10 points.

The Johnnies' largest lead reached 13 on two occasions in the first half (33-20 with 6:46 left) but the Auggies went on a 14-0 run over the next 2:09 to gain their first lead of the game and scored seven of the half's final nine points for a 47-44 advantage at the break. Augsburg made 57.6 percent (19-for-33) of its shots in the first 20 minutes.

The home team scored the first basket of the second half before SJU flexed for an 8-0 run. A 7-2 run gave SJU a 69-62 lead with 8:23 remaining, but a 7-0 sprint for Augsburg, capped by a Batala trey, tied the game with 6:16 left. 

The Auggies shot 37.5 percent (9-for-24) in the second half to dip below 50 percent (49.1) for the game. SJU outrebounded AUG 35-26 and posted a 40-26 scoring advantage in the paint.

The Johnnies open a three-game homestand with a 7 p.m. tip-off against Macalester on Wednesday, Jan. 7, in Sexton Arena.