St. Olaf took its first led at 10-8 with 14:22 left in the first half and never trailed the rest of the game. The Oles scored the first 11 points of the second half to open up a 45-29 lead with 15:13 left in the game, but the Johnnies went on a 24-8 run in the next 7:06 to tie the game at 53-53.
St. Olaf was led by sophomore guard Jon Butala, who had 20 points, including four three-point baskets. Sophomore forward Jon Bain had 14 points and six rebounds. The Oles shot 44.0 percent (22-of-50) from the field and made 19-of-22 free throws in the game.
For SJU, sophomore point guard Matt Ohme led all scorers with 21 points. Junior post Paul Henrichs added 17 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore wing Tim Veurink came off the bench to make three three-point baskets and a total of 11 points. The Johnnies shot 49.1 percent from the floor (26-of-53), but only made 6-of-10 free throw attempts. SJU did make nine three-point baskets in the game. The Johnnies won the rebound battle 29-26 and committed 16 turnovers in the loss.
The win for the Oles was the first in Collegeville since Dec. 13, 1997 and only the second in the series with the Johnnies in the last 12 meetings.
St. Olaf improves to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the MIAC, while SJU falls to 1-2 overall and 1-1 in the MIAC. The Oles will travel to Macalester for a 7:30 p.m. game on Wednesday, Dec. 8, in St. Paul, while the Johnnies will host Carleton at 7:30 p.m., Monday, Dec. 6, in Collegeville.
St. Olaf College vs Saint John's University 12/04/04 3 pm at Sexton Arena, Collegeville, Minn. At Sexton Arena, Collegeville, Minn. ST. OLAF COLLEGE 69, SAINT JOHN'S UNIVERSITY 67 ST. OLAF COLLEGE (4-1, 1-1 MIAC) Jon Butala 6-14 4-4 20; Jon Bain 5-8 4-5 14; Wade Pierce 3-8 2-2 8; Will Johnson 2-3 2-2 7; Andy Grimsrud 2-5 2-2 6; Pat Fraser 2-3 2-3 6; Erik Sviggum 1-4 1-2 4; Mark Bergstrom 1-2 0-0 2; Bobby Hunter 0-1 2-2 2; Chad Norberg 0-1 0-0 0; Eric Scholten 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-50 19-22 69. SAINT JOHN'S UNIVERSITY (1-2, 1-1 MIAC) Matt Ohme 8-14 2-4 21; Paul Henrichs 8-16 1-3 17; Tim Veurink 3-6 2-2 11; Jon Kaus 3-4 1-1 8; Zach Reif 2-8 0-0 6; Craig Schafer 2-2 0-0 4; Andrew Spaanem 0-1 0-0 0; Scott Schafer 0-1 0-0 0; Jesse Ellens 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-53 6-10 67. St. Olaf College.............. 34 35 - 69 Saint John's University....... 29 38 - 67 3-point goals-St. Olaf College 6-14 (Jon Butala 4-6; Erik Sviggum 1-3; Will Johnson 1-1; Andy Grimsrud 0-2; Bobby Hunter 0-1; Chad Norberg 0-1), Saint John's University 9-19 (Tim Veurink 3-5; Matt Ohme 3-6; Zach Reif 2-6; Jon Kaus 1-1; Jesse Ellens 0-1). Fouled out--St. Olaf College-None, Saint John's University-None. Rebounds-St. Olaf College 26 (Jon Bain 6), Saint John's University 29 (Paul Henrichs 8). Assists-St. Olaf College 13 (Erik Sviggum 3; Pat Fraser 3), Saint John's University 11 (Jesse Ellens 4). Total fouls-St. Olaf College 14, Saint John's University 20. A-416 St. Olaf junior Will Johnson made two free throws with 5.8 seconds left to win the game...St. Olaf won in Collegeville for the first time since 12/13/97