Northfield, Minn. – Tanner Schieck (Jr./Austin, Minn.) scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds and Scott Christensen (Sr./Northfield, Minn.) added 18 points, four assists and four steals but visiting St. John’s University broke to a 39-24 halftime lead and beat Carleton College, 69-58, the MIAC Playoff quarterfinals.
Freshman Paul Henrichs added career highs with 21 points and 16 rebounds for the Johnnies (12-14), who beat the Knights for the third time in as many tries in the MIAC Playoffs. Kevin Buth added 14 points and seven rebounds for SJU. Andrew Sherburne added 12 points and Shawn McGuire chipped in with 11.
The sixth-seeded Johnnies (12-14) outscored the Knights 9-1 from the free throw line in the first half as 13 personal fouls were whistled on Carleton compared to five for St. John’s. The visitors shot 16 free throws in the first 20 minutes while the Knights went to the line just twice.
Kyle Beste (So./St. Louis Park, Minn.) added 12 points for the third-seeded Knights before fouling out, as foul trouble limited him to only 18 minutes.
SJU broke to an early 17-10 lead and build it to 15 by the half as the Knights made only 10-of-32 shots over the first 20 minutes, 3-for-15 from three-point range, and committed eight turnovers. SJU held a huge 26-12 rebounding edge in the first half and outscored Carleton 18-4 on points in the paint.
Carleton tried to rally in the second half. A 10-2 spurt midway through the half brought the hosts with single digits at 45-37. The margin could have been even closer but the Knights missed on four free throw attempts during the stretch. SJU used a Buth triple, a Sherburne tip-in and a Henrichs lay-up to stretch the lead back to 15, 57-42, with five minutes remaining.
The Knights shot only 33.9 percent from the floor and made 6-of-25 three-pointers. The Johnnies connected on 25-of-53 shots (47.2 percent) and held a sizable 44-30 rebounding edge. For the game the Johnnies outscored Carleton 34-12 in the pain and 19-10 on second-chance points.
SJU advances to the MIAC Playoff semifinals to face top-seed University of St. Thomas. The other semifinal will put second-seeded Gustavus Adolphus College against fourth seed Bethel College, who easily defeated St. Olaf College in the other quarterfinal game.