Men's basketball postseason chances fall at St. John's

The Pipers (8-16, 6-13 in the MIAC) needed to win their final two games and get help to clinch the final spot in the MIAC Playoffs, but Hamline couldn't keep up their end of the bargain.

St. John's (19-5, 17-2) hit 21-of-29 shots from the field in the first half to take a 50-29 halftime lead. Ryan Lieser was 8-of-10 from the field, including 4-of-4 from deep to score all 20 of his points in the first half.

Craig Schafer tallied a game-high 21 points for the Johnnies, who will play for the MIAC regular season championship on Saturday against St. Thomas.

Sophomore Jon DeRock scored 19 points to lead the way for Hamline. He scored 11 of his points in the first half. DeRock was 8-of-17 from the floor. Sophomore Tony Thrasher added nine points.

Hamline shot 36.7 percent from the floor in the contest (22-60). St. John's was 66.1 percent shooting (39-59) for the entire game.

Hamline will close out the 2006-07 season when they host Macalester on Saturday. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m.