Saint John's basketball visits St. Scholastica for a 3 p.m. game on Saturday, Jan. 31, in Duluth. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's lost a game of runs and lead changes at Concordia on Wednesday night (Jan. 28), falling to the Cobbers 71-69.

SJU watched an eight-point lead fade away late in the second half, falling scoreless for the final 4:09 of the game and missing two chances at a 1-and-1 free throw with 18 seconds remaining. Concordia scored the final 10 points of the game and cut the Johnnies' lead to one with a trey off a turnover – three of 18 Cobber points after a takeaway. 

Saint John's started the game down 7-2 after going over three minutes without a field goal. Junior guard Baiden Bean (Farmington, Minn.) relieved SJU of its drought, hitting two from the line and pulling up for two more to give the Johnnies their first lead of the game 12:55 into the first half. 

Concordia responded with a 10-point run in less than two minutes, making every shot until freshman guard Peyton Podany (Anoka, Minn.) slowed the Cobbers' roll with his and the Johnnies' first three-pointer of the day. 

Cobber forward Jacob Cook's fifth free throw of the game swung a 10-point lead back in favor of the home team, 29-19. Bean sparked SJU once more, scoring four points and grabbing a board on the defensive end of the court to cut the lead to six. He started a 7-0 stretch for Saint John's, and a Podany layup-and-one tied it 32-32 at the half.

Both teams exchanged seven-point runs after the break and traded the lead a total of six times in the second frame. SJU was whistled for 10 second-half fouls, helping Concordia to the bonus with 11:14 to play in the game. 

Podany and junior wing Jamison Lien (Prior Lake, Minn.) combined to shoot 6 of 7 for SJU's largest and last lead of the game at 69-61. 

The Cobbers scored four in the paint and a three from Cook to cut it to one, 69-68. Bean was fouled first and missed his 1-and-1, but Liam Farniok scooped up the board for a quick second chance. He was fouled immediately and missed his shot at the line to give the Cobbers the ball back, who drove to the hoop for a quick layup and the final lead exchange. 

SJU shot 44.4 percent (28-for-63) from the floor and 25 percent (5-for-20) from beyond the arc. The Johnnies made all five of their first-half free throws but missed 4 of 7 in the second half. SJU grabbed 12 offensive rebounds to Concordia's four but scored just four second chance points.

Podany led the Johnnies with 23 points on 8-for-16 shooting (4-for-8 from three-point). He added six rebounds, two assists and a block. 

Bean finished with 17 points (7-for-18) and eight assists, while junior post Vincent Hillesheim (Minneapolis, Minn.) completed the double-double with 10 points and 12 boards.

KEEPING IT CLOSE: Wednesday's loss to Concordia was the fourth game for the Johnnies this season that has ended with a differential of three points or less. SJU is 3-1 in those games and 3-4 in games that have been decided by 10 points or less.

A LOOK AT THE SAINTS: St. Scholastica (6-13, 2-7 MIAC) lost its third-consecutive MIAC game against Augsburg – 95-70 – on Wednesday (Jan. 28) in Duluth. The Saints shot 39.4 percent (26-for-66) to the Auggies' 58.3 percent (35-for-60), making just four shots from beyond the arc against 14 for Augsburg. Junior (5-foot-11) guard Davion Butler (16), freshman (6-foot-6) guard Jayden Brown (14) and junior (6-foot-6) forward Aaron Keykal (14) each scored in double-digits. CSS has been outscored by a margin of 72 points (261-189) in its last three losses. The Saints' last win was a 93-73 victory over Bethel in Duluth on Jan. 17. Their other conference win came against Macalester three days earlier. Butler is the Saints' leading scorer, averaging 16.0 points per game on 46.2 percent shooting. He's also hitting at a clip of 35.6 percent from beyond the arc and 88.4 percent from the charity stripe. Keykal leads the team's rebounding efforts (6.5 rpg.) and averages 8.4 points per game on 52.5 percent shooting.

STAT COMPARISONS (ranked by conference play)
Scoring Offense
5. SJU, 76.3 ppg. (77.5 overall)
10. CSS, 70.8 (69.9 overall)

Scoring Defense
2. SJU, 72.1 ppg. (74.5 overall)
9. CSS, 83.6 (77.3 overall)

Shooting Percentage
7. SJU, .466 (.477 overall)
10. CSS, .427 (.429 overall)

Shooting Percentage – Defense
8. SJU, .446 (.459 overall)
11. CSS, .503 (.473 overall)

Three-Point Percentage
3. SJU, .376/99-263 (.338/184-544 overall)
11. CSS, .280/103-145 (.303/132-436 overall)

Three-Point Percentage – Defense
9. SJU, .366/140-188 (.338/180-273 overall)
10. CSS, .386/107-277 (.352/172-489 overall)

Free-Throw Percentage
8. CSS, .710/103-145 (.718/211-294 overall)
9. SJU, .689/84-122 (.659/180-273 overall)

Free-Throw Percentage – Defense
1. CSS, .669/89-133 (.680/217-319 overall)
8. SJU, .745/140-188 (.755/296-392 overall)

Rebounding
2. SJU, 35.8 rpg. (37.3 overall)
10. CSS, 33.1 rpg. (31.9 overall)

LAST SEASON'S MEETINGS: The Johnnies defeated the Saints twice in the regular season in a span of 18 days and by a combined margin of 63 points (197-134).

at Saint John's 97, St. Scholastica 68 (Jan. 18, 2025)
Then-No. 14 SJU cruised to its 10th-straight win, 97-68 over St. Scholastica in Sexton Arena. The Johnnies shot 66.7 percent (18-for-27) in the first half, including a 5-for-10 performance from behind the arc, for a 49-33 halftime lead. 

SJU out-scored St. Scholastica 65-15 in bench points and 12 different Johnnies scored a basket or more. The home team led by as much as 34 (93-59) with 3:40 to play.

Senior guard Kyle Johnson (Prior Lake, Minn./DeLaSalle) led five Johnnies in double figures with 18 points off the bench. He finished 7-for-14 from the floor (4-for-8 from three-point) to go along with four assists and two steals.

Guard Luke Healy '25 and wing Griffin Rushin '25 followed with 14 points apiece. Healy led SJU with 25:23 played and chipped in four rebounds and three assists with a perfect 6-for-6 showing at the free-throw line. Rushin, meanwhile, totaled two thunderous dunks, four boards, two assists, one block, one steal and finished 6-for-8 from the field.

Wing Ryan Thissen '24 posted SJU's first double-double of the season, and third of his career, with 13 points and 10 rebounds in 21 minutes of action. Thissen went 3-for-4 from three-point land and added two assists and two steals. 

Post Luke Budzyn '25 was the fifth Johnnie in double digits with 10 points.

Senior (5-foot-10) guard Koy Nelson led all scorers with 30 points in 31:31 of play for CSS, which shot 42.9 percent (12-for-28) in each half. 

The Johnnies out-scored the Saints 14-5 off turnovers and 13-2 in second-chance points.

Saint John's 100, at St. Scholastica 66 (Feb. 5, 2025)
Then-No. 9 Saint John's extended its win streak to 14 games with a 100-66 victory at St. Scholastica. The Johnnies shot 58.8 percent (40-for-68) from the field and out-scored the Saints 66-22 in the paint and 55-24 off the bench in the victory.

SJU scored 15 of the game's first 17 points and led 50-28 at the half thanks to a .629 shooting percentage (22-for-35) and a 23-9 rebounding margin (9-3 offensive).

Thissen led three Johnnies in double figures with 14 points in 22 minutes of play. All 14 Johnnies who played in the game scored a basket.

Guard Blake Berg '24 totaled 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists in 23 minutes, while Budzyn added 13 points, five boards and three blocks in 18 minutes off the bench.

Nelson led the Saints with 14 points. CSS went 3-for-16 (18.8 percent) from three-point in the second half and finished at 33.9 percent (21-for-62) from the floor overall.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 15-0 all-time against St. Scholastica on the basketball court, including a 4-0 record in Duluth.