Zach Johnson paced the Knights with 18 points and Tommy Drake added 16 points, seven assists and six rebounds for Carleton (0-4, 0-1 MIAC). Bryan Rosett added a career-high 15 points for the hosts.
Ryan Lieser added 17 points, six rebounds and four assists for St. John's (4-0, 3-0 MIAC).
The Knights trailed 34-30 at halftime, but pulled ahead, 51-47, with 12:47 left by hitting on seven of their first 12 shots of the second half, A Phillips triple staked the Knights to the four-point spread, but Westman heated up. Brady Brink started the run with a steal and lay-up and Westman followed suit on the Knights’ next possession. Westman nailed back-to-back triples, Brink hit another long-range shot and Westman capped the spree with a layup.
A Ryan Lieser three pushed the Johnnies in front by nine with a little more than three minutes left, but Drake and Mike Kootsikas hit consecutive threes and Rosett scored inside to cut the SJU lead to 71-68 with 18 seconds left. Carleton came up with a steal on an inbounds pass, but Jake Phillips missed on an open three with 10 seconds left and Lieser made two free throws with six seconds left to seal the win.
The Knights, playing their first home game and first games since going 0-3 on a road swing through Hawaii against NCAA Division II foes, broke to an early 16-9 lead , but the Johnnies whittled the lead down and eventually caught the Knights on a Craig Schaefer offensive rebound and put-back. Westman closed the half on a tear, dropping in three straight three-pointers to give the visitors a 34-30 lead at the break.
The Knights shot 44.1 percent (26-of-59) and 38.5 percent from three-point range (10-of-26), but the Johnnies hit on 50 percent of their shots (28-of-56) and 11-of-19 (57.9 percent) from three-point range.
Carleton is back in action on Wednesday, Dec. 6, traveling to Bethel University for a 5:45 p.m. as part of a men’s and women’s doubleheader. The Johnnies are at Gustavus Adolphus College on Wednesday, with tip time set for 7:30 p.m.
Saint John's University vs Carleton College 12/04/06 7:30 pm at Northfield, Minn. (West Gym) At Northfield, Minn. (West Gym) SAINT JOHN'S UNIVERSITY 73, CARLETON COLLEGE 71 SAINT JOHN'S UNIVERSITY (4-0, 3-0 MIAC) Tyler Westman 8-15 0-0 21; Ryan Lieser 5-11 4-4 17; Matt Ohme 4-4 0-0 9; Brady Brink 3-5 1-2 8; Scott Schafer 3-8 0-0 6; Craig Schafer 3-5 0-0 6; Nick Johnson 1-2 0-0 3; Tim Veurink 1-5 1-1 3; Jason Fogt 0-1 0-0 0; Joe Conzemius 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-56 6-7 73. CARLETON COLLEGE (0-4, 0-1 MIAC) Zach Johnson 5-12 6-7 18; Tommy Drake 6-14 2-2 16; Bryan Rosett 7-15 0-1 15; Jake Phillips 3-10 0-0 9; Mike Kootsikas 3-3 0-1 8; Jeremy Sutherland 2-4 0-0 4; Jay Melson 0-1 1-2 1; Tucker Shieck 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-59 9-13 71. Saint John's University....... 34 39 - 73 Carleton College.............. 30 41 - 71 3-point goals-Saint John's University 11-19 (Tyler Westman 5-7; Ryan Lieser 3-5; Brady Brink 1-3; Matt Ohme 1-1; Nick Johnson 1-2; Scott Schafer 0-1), Carleton College 10-26 (Jake Phillips 3-10; Tommy Drake 2-4; Mike Kootsikas 2-2; Zach Johnson 2-3; Bryan Rosett 1-6; Jay Melson 0-1). Fouled out--Saint John's University-None, Carleton College-None. Rebounds-Saint John's University 32 (Scott Schafer 7), Carleton College 32 (Bryan Rosett 6; Tommy Drake 6). Assists-Saint John's University 12 (Ryan Lieser 4), Carleton College 15 (Tommy Drake 7). Total fouls-Saint John's University 15, Carleton College 9. A-425 MIAC Opener for Carleton