Garrett Goetz made a 12-foot jump shot with 2.3 seconds left, giving fourth-seeded St. John's an 80-78 victory over top-seeded St. Thomas in the MIAC men's semifinals on Thursday night in St. Paul.
The victory moves the Johnnies (19-8) into Saturday's 7 p.m. conference championship game at Bethel, a 57-53 semifinal winner over Carleton.
David Stokman scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half, and he gave the Johnnies leads of 76-74 and 78-76 in the final 1:10. But Grant Shaeffer scored eight of his 21 points in the final 2:12 for the Tommies (19-7). Shaeffer's two free throws with 28 seconds left tied it at 78-78 before Goetz won it for St. John's.
Tyler Weiss scored 16 and Patrick Strom 15 for St. John's. Michael Hannon led St. Thomas with 22.
Bethel 57, Carleton 53: Granger Kingland scored 15 points and Derek Magnuson had 12 as the Royals (20-6) beat the Knights (18-9) in the MIAC semifinals. Kevin Grow lead Carleton with 13 points.
