COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – In their second meeting of the season, the Hamline men's basketball team (4-16, 2-13 MIAC) saw #2 Saint John's (19-1, 15-0 MIAC) pull away late on the road, falling 71-57 on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Pipers were tied with the Johnnies after the first half of play, as a pair of free throws from sophomore Cooper Berg evened the game up at 34 points apiece as the teams headed into the intermission. HU was also within two halfway through the second frame, but SJU went on a 17-5 run to end the game and remain unbeaten in MIAC play.
 
Sophomore Luke Siwek and junior Michael Dillon led Hamline in scoring, each ending in double digits. Siwek shot an effective eight of 15 (53.3%) from the floor to end with 18 points on the afternoon and Dillon connected on three of seven from beyond the arc to add to his final tally of 11 points, while also snagging a team-high eight rebounds.
 
It was another back-and-forth type of game for the first half, with the teams tying it up four different times before halftime. SJU grabbed the lead with 11:55 left on the clock after a successful free throw to give them a 17-16 edge. They would hold the lead until Dillon tied the game with a shot from downtown making it 32-32. The Johnnies quickly scored a layup, but Berg's free throws sent the teams into halftime tied.
 
The second half started the way the first half finished, with the two teams trading baskets to make it a tight matchup throughout. However, cold shooting from the Pipers towards the end of the game would give the Johnnies back their edge. In the second half alone, the Pipers shot 34.6% compared to the Johnnie's 51.9%.
 
Saint John's was led by Jubie Alade, who had a game-high 29 points on the afternoon. Teammate Zach Hanson was aggressive on the glass, grabbing 11 rebounds for the Johnnies.
 
Hamline continues their stretch of away games on February 3, heading up to Concordia for a 5:00 p.m. game.