Center Carl Hipp (Sr., Little Canada, Minn.) won the opening tip and
scored the first basket of the game on the first possession for the
Pipers.
The score was then tied on the scoreboard every two points up to 6-6,
when Saint John’s began a 6-0 run to go up 12-6 six minutes into the
game.
The Johnnies built their lead up to 11 points (22-11) at 7:35 and
then again at 6:40 (27-16), the second time as Andy Burns (Jr.,
Shorewood, Minn.) hit a three-pointer. Burns tallied 10 in the opening
half.
Hamline cut the deficit to five twice (30-25 at 2:54 and 32-27 at
:52), both times on free throws. However, the Johnnies would go on to
lead at halftime by seven, 34-27.
In addition to Burns’ 10 in the first half, Aaron Burtzel (Sr., Cold Spring, Minn.) had eight.
Hamline was led by 10 from Hipp in the opening 20 minutes.
At the beginning of the second half, Burtzel, Aaron Barmore (Jr.,
Bloomington, Minn.) and Sam Blank (Sr., Rollingstone, Minn.) combined to
help the Johnnies go up by 16 (48-32) by the 14-minute mark.
Hamline started to battle back, and with 1:18 remaining on the game
clock, Noah Aquirre (So., Fillmore, Calif.) hit a jumper that put the
Pipers within five, 72-67.
Hipp then hit a pair of free throws to cut the Saint John's lead down
to three, 72-69, with 59 seconds left to play in regulation.
The Pipers couldn't get any closer than those three points, as five
more trips to the free throw line helped the Johnnies win by an
eight-point margin, 80-72.
Burtzel (Sr., Cold Spring, Minn.) had a double-double with 13 points
and 10 rebounds for Saint John's while Blank had a team-high 20 points.
Burns added 17 points and Barmore had 14 as five Johnnies scored in
double-digits.
Hipp was a rebound shy of a double-double as he
tallied a game-high 23 points and pulled down nine boards for the
Pipers. Mike Campbell (Jr., Burnsville, Minn.) added 15 points while
Aguirre had 12.
Hamline is now 2-3, 0-2 MIAC while the Johnnies
are 5-2, 1-1 MIAC. The Pipers next host Augsburg on Wednesday, December
8, at 7:30 p.m.