MORRIS, Minn. – Saint John's (6-1) came into Morris and handed the Cougars (3-3) a 77-60 loss on Monday night. The Johnnies scored 24 points off 17 UMM turnovers, a telling stat in a game that was closer than the final score. SJU was also 11-30 from behind the arc while the Cougars were just 2-16.
 
The Johnnies hit a three on the opening possession of the game and Morris turned the ball over in their first two trips down the court. That would be the story in the first half as Saint John's scored 13 points off Cougar turnovers in the opening 20 minutes of play.
 
CD Douglas had four points, three assists and three steals in the first half for UMM. Tyler Ukkelberg led the Cougars with five points at the break. Morris would trail 38-28 at half.
 
Saint John's pushed their lead to 14 at 45-31 before Morris started to fight back. An 8-0 run cut the deficit to six. It would get as low as five at 50-45 with 11:29 on the clock. That would be as close as the Cougars got and with the score at 57-50, SJU converted a three point play to put the game away. The Johnnies finished the game on a 20-10 run to win by 17.
 
GAME NOTES:

• CD Douglas led the Cougars in scoring with 12. He also had eight rebounds, six assists and six steals, leading UMM in all four major categories.
• Anthony Fisher had three blocks.
• Tyler Ukkelberg and Joe Roggenbuck each had nine points.
• Saint John's outscored the Cougars 14-6 in second chance points.
• 36 of the Cougars 46 points scored during live action were scored in the paint.
• The Morris bench was outscored for just the second time this season.