The Johnnie basketball team plays host to Hamline for a 3 p.m. game on Saturday, Jan. 10, in Sexton Arena. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (6-7, 3-2 MIAC) dissolved a four-point deficit by shooting 63.3 percent (19-for-30) in the second half for a 76-56 win over Macalester on Wednesday night (Jan. 7) in Collegeville.

The Johnnies jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, but it was erased by the Scots with six quick points, followed by a shooting spree that gave the visitors the lead for the remainder of the first half. SJU tied the game at 20-20 and consistently got within two points of the Scots but turned the ball over twice and missed three from long range in the final 6:50 of the half.

The Johnnies missed just one shot (11-for-12) in the opening 8:50 after the break, getting points from seven different players, including six from both sophomore guard Liam Farniok (Minneapolis, Minn./Southwest) and freshman guard Hudson Hochstedler (Monticello, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville). Saint John's forced three Macalester turnovers and held the Scots to 36.3 percent shooting (4-for-11) during their 29-12 run. Four of MAC's 12 points came from the free-throw line. 

All 11 Johnnies who played scored a point and SJU flipped the script on the glass by out-rebounding MAC 23-10 in the second half after succumbing a 20-14 margin in the game's first 20 minutes.

Freshman guard Peyton Podany (Anoka, Minn.) led the Johnnies in scoring for the second game in a row and the fifth time this season with 15 points on 6 of 12 shooting. He added six defensive rebounds, five assists and a steal. 

Junior post Vincent Hillesheim (Minneapolis, Minn./Hopkins) grabbed nine boards (three offensive, six defensive) and added eight points. Farniok and Hochstedler finished with eight alongside Hillesheim, with Farniok dishing out a game-high six assists. 

Noah Shannon, the reigning MIAC Men's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week, led all scorers with 18 points on 6 of 15 shooting. He also completed a double-double with 11 rebounds. Six of his points came from the free throw line, accounting for half of MAC's tallies from the charity stripe.

SUCCESS vs. MAC CONTINUES: With Wednesday's win, SJU improved to 93-29 against Macalester since the 1964-65 season, including a 51-11 record in Collegeville. The Johnnies have won 35 of the last 37 meetings in Sexton Arena and 38 of the last 40 overall.

A LOOK AT THE PIPERS: Hamline (11-2, 3-1 MIAC) pushed its win streak to six games with a 95-72 victory Wednesday night (Jan. 7) at St. Scholastica. The Pipers shot 54.8 percent from the field, including 64.9 percent (37-for-57) from inside the arc, and scored 18 points off 12 offensive rebounds. Senior (6-foot-3) guard Brendan Ebel, the team's leading scorer at 18.3 points per game, led HU with 21 on the night. Junior (6-foot-0) guard Raoul Vaidya is second on the team in scoring (13.3 ppg.), while senior (6-foot-8) forward Dominic Dosmann is the third Piper averaging in double figures with 11.6. Junior (6-foot-4) forward Ethan Wall-Atim averages 8.5 points and 7.7 rebounds per contest, and leads the team with 15 blocked shots.  

STAT COMPARISONS (ranked by conference play)
Scoring Offense
3. HU, 83.3 ppg. (81.6 overall)
5. SJU, 77.8 ppg. (77.3 overall)

Scoring Defense
2. HU, 69.5 ppg. (67.2 overall)
5. SJU, 71.7 ppg. (77.0 overall)

Shooting Percentage
2. HU, .514 (.491 overall)
4. SJU, .492 (.456 overall)

Three-Point Percentage
4. SJU, .362/55-for-152 (.316/120-for-380 overall)
6. HU, .352/25-for-71 (.360/82-for-228 overall)

Free-Throw Percentage
3. SJU, .781/50-for-64 (.685/135-for-197 overall)
10. HU, .685/50-for-73 (.656/193-for-294 overall)

Rebounding
2. SJU, 37.0 rpg. (38.8 overall)
3. HU, 35.5 rpg. (35.3 overall)

LAST SEASON'S MEETINGS: The Johnnies defeated the Pipers twice last season in Collegeville, once during the regular season and again in the MIAC semifinals.

at Saint John's 79, Hamline 61 (Jan. 4, 2025)
Then-No. 21 SJU shot a blistering 66.7 percent (16-for-24) from the field in the second half in a 79-61 win over Hamline. The Johnnies finished at 55.6 percent (30-for-54) for the game, including a 10-for-17 (58.8 percent) performance from behind the arc to extend their win streak to seven games.

Hamline made its first two shots of the game, a pair of three-pointers, to gain a quick 6-0 lead as SJU missed its first four attempts from the field. The home team, however, made 13 of its next 18 shots (72.2 percent), including a 5-for-7 clip (71.4 percent) from three-point, and the Pipers went 3-for-15 (0-for-4 from deep) with three turnovers as SJU built a 31-14 lead with 7:06 left in the first half. Guard Blake Berg '24 scored SJU's first 10 points.

HU closed the first half with an 8-2 run, including the last six points, to cut the Johnnies' lead to 10 (35-25) at the break. The Johnnies answered the Pipers for the first four minutes of the second half and kept its lead to double digits for the remainder of the game. The margin reached its highest point at 21 (73-52, 75-54) twice under five minutes to play.

Berg led all scorers with 22 points on 9-for-13 shooting in 31 minutes of play. He also chipped in three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Wing Ryan Thissen '24 followed with 17 points on a 7-for-10 showing from the floor, including a perfect 3-for-3 mark from three-point land, with a team-high five rebounds in 26 minutes.

Guard Luke Healy '25 was the third Johnnie in double figures with 13 points in 16 minutes off the bench. He also added two rebounds and two steals.

Bradley Cimperman led the Pipers with 15 points on 5-for-13 shooting and six rebounds. HU shot 36 percent (9-for-25) from the field in the first half, including a 4-for-13 showing inside the three-point arc, and finished at 44.2 percent (23-for-52) overall.

at Saint John's 72, Hamline 54 (MIAC Semifinals; Feb. 27, 2025)
SJU punched its ticket to the MIAC championship game with a 72-54 semifinal victory over the Pipers before a raucous crowd of 2,144 in Sexton Arena.

SJU rode the wave of a 17-2 second-half run to put the game out of reach. Wing Griffin Rushin '25 led SJU with 17 points off the bench. Berg finished with 14 points and Thissen added 12 points (eight in the second half) and six rebounds. The Pipers finished 22-for-53 (41.5 percent) from the field and were just 1-for-12 from 3-point range.

After a layup by Cimperman with 12:20 to play, Hamline managed only a pair of free throws until a basket by Austin Holt with 5:45 remaining. But a deep three-pointer by guard Kooper Vaughn '25 then put SJU in front by 24 (67-43). 

Vaidya had 15 points to lead Hamline, but after starting the game 7-for-7 from the field, he finished 0-for-7. Led by Rushin, the Johnnies got 35 points off the bench to the Pipers' six.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 98-29 against the Pipers since the 1964-65 season, including a 56-10 record in Collegeville. SJU has won 19 of the last 22 meetings overall, including 20 of the last 22 in Collegeville.