Senior Patrick Butcher scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half and Joe Risinger had 11 of his 13 points after halftime as St. John's ended St. Thomas' 31-game home winning streak with Saturday's 76-69 MIAC men's basketball victory before 1,550 fans at Schoenecker Arena.
The Johnnies (15-10 overall, 13-7 MIAC) won for the 10th time in 12 games. In rallying from a 36-29 halftime deficit, SJU shot 67 percent from the floor (14-of-21) and knocked down 14-of17 free throws in the second half. The Johnnies finished at 55-percent shooting on the game.
As part of a 21-6 run early in the season half, Butcher banked in a 3-pointer and Seth Marx turned an off-balance shot into a four- point play with a trey and a foul.
Zach Riedeman scored 19 points and Conner Nord had 13 points and seven rebounds for UST. The Toms played the last seven minutes without senior guard Erik Tengwall due to an injury.
The Toms had just nine turnovers and a 28-25 rebounding edge but missed 8-of-9 from 3-point range in the second half.
The Tommies (21-4, 18-2) had already secured the program's ninth consecutive conference championship and the MIAC playoffs' top seed. They have a first-round bye and will play at home on Friday night against either St. John's, Gustavus or Bethel.