The Record

Tommies sneak by in thriller

By: Chad Henle

The Johnnie basketball team had a close one this past Satur- day. They took on No. 4 nationally ranked St. Thomas University.

The Johnnies fell 62-67. They were leading the entire game fell short when they couldn’t hold them off in the last minutes. The Johnnies gave St. Thomas all they could but were plagued with an epidemic of missing free throw opportunities going nine for 23 from the line. Junior Todd Herman had a great game, finishing with a career high of 28 points to lead the Johnnies, followed by sophomore Andrew Latzke who added 14.

The Johnnies had a busy week and haven’t been on their game, dropping their last three games to Concordia, Augsburg, and then finally St. Thomas this past Saturday. Even with the Johnnies’ hectic schedule the past week, they still thought that they were prepared for the game against St. Thomas.

“We can beat anyone in the MIAC and on any given night it is anyone’s game,” sophomore Andy Burns said. “We must focus on our game plan and ourselves. We need to keep working hard and listen to our coaches, stay focused, keep improving and make a run when it really counts at this time in the season.”

The Johnnies are holding the fifth spot in the MIAC but could finish anywhere between second and sixth in the final standings. The Johnnies have already locked up a seed in the MIAC playoffs because the top six teams qualify for the playoffs.

The Johnnies won on Wednesday night against Hamline 65-62 here at St. Johns and travel down in St. Peter to play against Gustavus Adolphus for their final regular game of the season.

“Even with two games left, and the fact that we already are guar- anteed playoffs, we can’t be satisfied with that,” sophomore Andrew Latzke said. “It is important that we finish this year strong and take second in the conference and put ourselves in a good spot for the playoffs.”

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