Box Score

ST. PETER, Minn. - The middle was spectacular.
 
But it was the beginning and end that proved too hard for freshman guard Peyton Podany (Anoka, Minn.) and his Saint John's teammates to overcome Saturday night (Feb. 28).
 
The second-seeded Johnnies fell behind early, rallied to lead by as much as 12 early in the second half, but ultimately fell 75-66 on the road to top-seeded Gustavus in the MIAC men's basketball championship game at Gus Young Court.
 
"We battled," said Podany, who once again led the way for SJU with 26 points. "Obviously, we didn't get the outcome we wanted, but I couldn't be prouder of our guys. We fought through so much adversity this year - not only in this game, but throughout the entire season."
 
The Johnnies - who finished 16-11 overall - lost eight of their top nine scorers from a year ago, and the lone returner - senior Kyle Johnson - saw action in just six games due to injury. 
 
The team was 4-7 going into the holiday break but found its groove in January and February - finishing the regular season 11-3, then defeated fourth-seeded Concordia 75-68 in the semifinals Thursday (Feb. 26) to advance to the conference title game for the sixth time in the past seven seasons.
 
Waiting there, though, were the Gusties - ranked No. 11 in the most recent D3hoops.comDivision III national poll. 
 
Gustavus topped SJU by 15 and 11 in the regular-season meetings between the two teams, and it appeared things might unfold in much the same fashion Saturday when the Gusties started the game 10-for-13 from the field and eventually led by as much as 12 at 35-23 with 5:40 to play before halftime.
 
But from there, the Johnnies outscored Gustavus 18-2 the rest of the way to take a 41-37 lead going into the locker rooms. Podany - who finished the first half with 19 points - had 12 of that total. Junior post Vincent Hillesheim (Minneapolis, Minn./Hopkins) - who ended the first half with 10 and the night with 14 points and seven rebounds - had the other six.
 
"We stayed at it and trusted our guys like we always do," Podany said. "We knew if we did that, we could get back in it."
 
SJU kept hold of the momentum to start the second half, beginning on a 10-2 run that put them on top 51-39 when Podany drilled one of his four 3-pointers with 17 minutes to play. 
 
That proved to be the high-water mark as the Gusties got a pair of 3-pointers from Jake Schmitt to ignite a comeback, then Myles Barnette took care of the rest. 
 
The 6-foot-1 guard - who was averaging 18.4 points-per-game entering play - finished with a game-best 29 points and five rebounds. His jump shot with 7:39 remaining put Gustavus back in front 61-60 and his team extended its lead to as much as nine.
 
The Johnnies, meanwhile, were held scoreless for a stretch of 6:17 before sophomore post Charlie Theis (Cottage Grove, Minn./East Ridge) hit a layup with 2:53 to go.
 
"You can't do that," said SJU head coach Pat McKenzie '04, whose team turned the ball over 13 times. "If you get into the 12-turnover range, it's going to be hard to beat anybody this time of year, let alone a team that good. Credit them, though. They ratcheted things up and really made life difficult for us down the stretch."
 
Hillesheim followed Theis's layup with a basket of his own to cut the gap 69-64 with 2:11 to play, but after Carson Koch scored with under a minute left, the Johnnies were forced to foul and the Gusties went 4-for-4 from the line the rest of the way.
 
Podany - who crossed the 20-point mark for the ninth time this season, and the fifth time in the past six games - added six rebounds. Junior guard Baiden Bean (Farmington, Minn.) finished with five assists, giving him an MIAC-best total of 149 this season.
 
Sophomore guard Liam Farniok (Minneapolis, Minn./Southwest) added eight points.
 
"We talked in the locker room about remembering how we feel right now," said Podany, whose team returns almost its entire core next season. "As heartbreaking as this is, we want to hold on to that and carry it with us the entire offseason.
 
"Then hopefully, we can get back to this point again next year and get over the top."