Box ScoreNORTHFIELD, Minn. – Saint John's University junior guard
Mitchell Kuck (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) drained two free throws with 3.3 seconds left to give the Johnnies a 64-63 win at Carleton on Saturday, Jan. 10, in Northfield.
Shane McSparron made a jumper with nine seconds remaining to give Carleton (4-7, 1-5 MIAC) its first lead of the game. Kuck drove the court and put up a shot, but a foul was called on the floor, leading to a one-and-one opportunity from the line.
Junior guard
Alex Schmitt (Waconia, Minn.) missed the front end of a one-and-one, just the fifth free-throw attempt for SJU (6-5, 4-2 MIAC) in the game, with 20 seconds remaining before McSparron hit the go-ahead jumper.
Carleton shot 55 percent from the field in the second half, including a 3-for-3 performance from three-point range, and clawed back in the game with a 15-for-20 showing at the free-throw line. SJU led by as much as 18 in the game and by 14 with 13:54 left, but the Knights gained the double bonus with 5:12 remaining. Total team fouls were 16-6 at that point in the contest. CAR ended the game 19-for-26 from the charity stripe, compared to 5-for-7 by SJU.
The Johnnies shot 55.6 percent (15-for-27) from the field and took a 35-23 lead into halftime. Carleton, meanwhile, shot 34.6 percent (9-for-26) but ended the half on a 9-3 run.
Kuck and Schmitt led SJU with 19 and 14 points, respectively, while freshman guard
Patrick Strom (Fargo, N.D./Shanley) added 11 points off the bench.
SJU missed 13 layups (shots in the paint) in the game, including nine in the second half as the visitors shot 37.9 percent (11-for-29) from the field.
McSparron led all scorers with 22 points for Carleton.
The Johnnies return home to host Saint Mary's for a 7 p.m. game on Wednesday, Jan. 14, in Sexton Arena.
