St. John’s Basketball completed the sweep of St. Thomas last week with a 61-56 win in St. Paul. This is the first time that the Johnnies have swept St. Thomas in basketball since the 1993-1994 season.
“This was the first time that Andy Burns and I have beat St. Thomas in our four years, so it was really great to get them twice this year,” senior forward Aaron Barmore said.
Barmore was named player of the week for his efforts against St. Thomas. He led all scorers with 22 points and was a perfect 7-7 shooting from the field. The Johnnies followed up their victory against St. Thomas with another hard-fought win against Hamline on Feb. 4 at St. John’s.
“Hamline plays a very different type of basketball and their defense really bothered us,” Head Coach Jim Smith said.
Despite having a high amount of turnovers (24) in the game and allowing Hamline to tie the game with only 10 seconds left, the Johnnies held on. On the ensuing possession a layup was rejected out of bounds, leaving the Johnnies with an in-bound pass with only two seconds remaining. Senior guard Andy Burns received the in-bounds, head faked the defender and nailed a 15 foot jump shot for the win.
“I was in foul trouble most of the game so I never got into a groove, but the shot at the end felt really good leaving my hand,” Burns said.
The Johnnies swept Hamline this year, which will be crucial for tie-breakers.
On Wednesday night in a game against Bethel the Johnnies looked to sweep the Royals and solidify their playoff positioning. However, they suffered a disappointing loss 63-67.
The Johnnies have an important two weeks ahead of them as they try and lock down a playoff spot. Currently, the Johnnies sit in fifth place in the MIAC, with the top six teams advancing to playoffs.
“We can never really take a night off because the MIAC is so good this year,” Barmore said.
Although the Johnnies would make the playoffs if the season ended now, there are still four games remaining, all of which are MIAC games.
This type of grind will take its toll on the players, and Coach Smith is aware of this.
“I am really trying to keep the practices short and focusing on the mental preparation of the games so everyone is fresh and ready to play,” Smith said.
The Johnnies continue conference play tomorrow at 3 p.m. against St. Olaf in Northfield, Minn. In their first meeting the Johnnies fell to St. Olaf 77-82 in overtime. With St. Olaf in contention for a playoff spot, the game is expected to be close and hard fought.
“We are going to have to come with a lot of energy to come out with a win,” Burns said.