University of St. Thomas Athletics
24-3, 19-1MIAC
Saint John's
25-2, 19-1MIAC
Cold shooting sinks Men's Basketball in playoff final at St. John's
2/29/2020 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
No. 3-ranked St. John's rode 3-point shooting and rebounds to an 81-63 home win over No. 2-ranked St. Thomas in Saturday night's MIAC playoff championship game in Collegeville. That snapped the Purple's win streak at 13.
Anders Nelson scored 16 points and Elijah Hannah added 15 points and eight rebounds for St. Thomas (24-3).
Both teams will learn their NCAA playoff situation on Monday -- the Johnnies with the automatic berth, and UST an expected at-large qualifier.
St. John's raced to an 11-0 lead in the first three minutes and led 31-28 at halftime. The Johnnies outscored the Toms 36-12 in 3-pointers, as the visitors made just 4-of-21 behind the arc to the hosts' 12-of-24. Jubie Alade and Oakley Baker combined for 47 points and 10 rebounds and made nine treys for SJU, which posted a 36-22 rebounding edge.
