The Saint John’s University basketball team lost 90-74 against the Partita Under 19 Team of Siena on Thursday, May 13 in Siena, Italy. The Johnnies are now 1-1 on their nine-day tour of Italy.
SJU was led by junior Nermin Hujdurovic (Tuzla, Bosnia/Medical) with 22 points, including an 11-of-14 showing from the free-throw line. Junior Chris Schwartz (Sioux Falls, S.D./Lincoln) made four three-pointers in the third quarter to end the game with 12 points. Sophomore Andy Burns (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) and junior Aaron Burtzel (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori) each contributed eight points. Junior Todd Herman (Spicer, Minn./New London-Spicer) had seven points for the Johnnies. Burtzel also collected seven rebounds, while Hujdurovic had four rebounds.
After the game was tied at 4-4, Siena went on an 11-0 run to take a 15-4 lead. The Johnnies trailed 28-7 at the end of the first quarter and 52-23 at halftime. SJU could only manage four field goals and made 13-of-22 free throws in the first 20 minutes of play. The Johnnies did cut the lead in half to 69-54 after three quarters. In total, SJU ended up going 22-of-39 from the free-throw line.
Off the basketball court, the travel party visited the city of Siena during the afternoon. On Friday, the group travels to Lucca for sightseeing and will then have its final exhibition game in the evening against Team Pescia. The tour of Italy runs through May 18.