Saint John's opens a three-game homestand with a 7 p.m. tip-off against Macalester on Wednesday, Jan. 7, in Sexton Arena. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (5-7, 2-2 MIAC) 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 this past Saturday (Jan. 3) at Si Melby Hall.

Down by one (79-78) with just under three minutes remaining, a trio of Johnnies 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 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.

A LOOK AT THE SCOTS: Macalester (6-7, 1-3 MIAC) snapped a two-game skid on Saturday (Jan. 3) with an 89-77 home win over Saint Mary's. Senior (6-foot-5) forward Noah Shannon led the Scots with 30 points, on 13 of 18 shooting, and 10 rebounds in 37 minutes. He was named the MIAC Men's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week for his two-game performance, which also included 23 points on 11 of 15 shooting in Friday's (Jan. 2) 78-73 home loss to Wisconsin-Superior. Shannon currently leads the MIAC in scoring (21.7 ppg.) and is third in both assists (3.6 apg.) and rebounding (8.5 rpg.). Senior (6-foot-5) forward Ryan Brush (10.4 ppg.) and freshman (6-foot-3) guard Owen Walther (10.3 ppg.) average over 10 points per contest. Walther leads the team with 40 three-pointers (40-for-106) through the season's first 13 games.

IN THE MIAC: The two programs are tied for second in the MIAC in rebounding and are in the top four in four other statistical categories through four conference games.

Scoring Offense
4. MAC, 79.5 ppg. (81.9 overall)
6. SJU, 78.8 ppg. (77.4 overall)

Scoring Defense
7. SJU, 79.5 ppg. (78.8 overall)
10. MAC, 82.8 ppg. (84.9 overall)

Shooting Percentage
4. SJU, .480/119-248 (.451/344-762 overall)
7. MAC, .465/120-258 (.459/383-834 overall)

Three-Point Percentage
2. MAC, .404/46-114 (.381/149-391 overall)
6. SJU, .368/39-106 (.314/112-357 overall)

Free-Throw Percentage
3. SJU, .792/38-48 (.683/129-189 overall)
11. MAC, .533/32-60 (.642/149-232 overall)

Rebounding
t2. SJU, 37.0 rpg. (39.0 overall)
t2. MAC, 37.0 rpg. (4=37.7 overall)

LAST SEASON: Then-No. 6 SJU extended its win streak to 16 games with an 80-63 victory over Macalester the last time the two teams met on Feb. 12 (2025) in Sexton Arena.

SJU held the Scots to single digits in points until 9:02 remaining in the first half as the visitors finished at 23.5 percent (8-for-34) from the field and 3-for-19 (15.8 percent) from three-point land in the first half. The Johnnies countered at 47.4 percent (18-for-38) for a 45-21 halftime lead.

The home team led by as much as 29 (66-37) with 10:11 to play.

Wing Ryan Thissen '24 led four Johnnies in double figures with 15 points in a team-best 23:00 of play. Guard Kooper Vaughn '25 was next with 14 points in 17:22 of action, while senior guard Kyle Johnson (Prior Lake, Minn./DeLaSalle) added 13 points off the bench. Vaughn went 4-for-9 from behind the arc. Guard Blake Berg '24 was the fourth Johnnie in double digits with 11 points. 

SJU ended the game at an even 47 percent (31-for-66) and out-rebounded Mac 46-34, though offensive boards were a draw at 14-14.

JP Kerrigan led the Scots with 17 points off the bench and Shannon registered 12 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals in 37:58 played.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 92-29 against Macalester since the 1964-65 season, including a 50-11 record in Collegeville. SJU has won 34 of the last 36 meetings in Sexton Arena and 37 of the last 39 overall.