ST. PAUL, Minn. - After giving up 98 points to one MIAC school on the road on Saturday, the University of Northwestern Men's Basketball team surrendered 99 to another on Tuesday night in its own building. In just the second meeting all-time between the two teams, and the first regular-season clash, Saint John's University used a deep roster and a hot shooting night to cruise past the Eagles and tie the all-time series at 1-1. Northwestern won the first meeting between the two in the 2019 NCAA Tournament by a 93-78 score in Collegeville. The Johnnies shot 57.9% from the field and 55.6% from three in the first half to establish a sizable lead, and extended it in the second half despite cooling off.
The early goings were a back-and-forth affair, as
Jonah Burnett (Orr, Minn./North Woods),
Mateo Cortes Weiss (Monterrey, N.L., Mexico/Minnehaha Academy) and
Jacob Hoefs (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) scored early to keep UNW close at 11-9. Four consecutive points from
Noah Frazell (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) tied the game at 13, but that is the last time Northwestern would pose any significant threat to SJU.
Ben Tschida (Andover, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) caught fire for a brief stretch near the 12-minute mark and
Ethan Van Schepen (Rochester, Minn./Schaeffer Academy) checked in and drilled a three-pointer, but the Saint John's lead would soon grow to double digits, even with Burnett hitting back-to-back jumpers with eight minutes left in the half. A 10-0 run put the visitors up 20, and they went into the break with a 56-35 advantage despite Frazell's 11 points.
Hoefs opened the second-half scoring with a free throw, but SJU blitzed the Eagles with a 13-0 run to extend its lead to 33 before an
AJ Greene (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) floater stopped the bleeding. The lead grew to 36 before
Will Foster (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) scored his first five points since returning from injury. Seven points from Frazell and five from Hoefs, Northwestern's two leading scorers in the contest, briefly brought the hosts within 26 with 6:28 to play, but Saint John's pushed it back to 35 before each team began emptying its bench with around six minutes remaining.
Josh Sokeye (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian Academy) and
Samson Hagstrom (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria Area) each scored in the closing minutes of the 99-63 defeat.
Frazell continued his strong play since returning from injury, leading all scorers with 18 points on 5-10 shooting (2-4 from deep) and adding a pair of assists. Hoefs finished with 13 points, four rebounds and two assists, while Burnett scored eight points and picked up two steals. Freshman
Julius Frog (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian) ripped down seven rebounds in just 10 minutes of action, and Foster added four in 14 minutes. UNW only committed seven turnovers, but lost the rebounding battle 50-26.
The Eagles will play their final game of the 2025 calendar year on Saturday, December 20th at Central College. Tip-off in Pella, Iowa is scheduled for 3:00 PM.
