University of St. Thomas Athletics
Bethel
Guards shoot well, Men's Hoops gets 84-68 win
2/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sophomore guard Joe Scott scored 26 points and freshman guard Tyler Nicolai added 18 points as the first-place Tommies (18-3 overall, 14-2 MIAC) posted an 84-68 road win over Bethel (12-8, 8-7) in MIAC men's basketball play Wednesday night in Arden Hills.
The 19th-ranked Tommies shot 59% from the field and outscored the Royals 33-15 from 3-point range. UST swept the regular-season series with Bethel for the fourth consecutive season.
Scott hit six treys, and Nicolai sank 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. B.J. Viau added 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Lonnie Robinson had eight points and five assists.
St. Thomas ran its win streak to eight and maintained its 1.5-game lead over Gustavus, its Saturday afternoon opponent at UST. The Toms need one win or one Concordia loss to clinch a top-two finish and a first-round playoff bye.
Tim Madsen had 20 points and Mike Moberg scored 18 for the Royals, who shot just 39%.
UST closed the first half with a 12-3 run that opened up a 37-29 halftime lead. An early 13-4 run in the second half pushed the Tommies' lead to double digits, and BU was never closer than nine points down the stretch.
Since a 59-58 loss at Gustavus on Jan. 12, the Tommie men have won their last eight games by an average margin of 19.5 ppg.
With the Tommies' women-men sweep tonight, St. Thomas is now 12-0 in men's and women's hockey and basketball over the last eight days.
http://athletics.bethel.edu/sports/mbball/2008/stats/ust-mbb2.htm
To view or purchase Greg Smith action photos, clcik here:
Teddy Archer attacks the basket in the victory. (Greg Smith photo)
Lonnie Robinson drives to the basket. (Greg Smith photo)
B.J. Viau had 12 points and 10 rebounds in the win. (Greg Smith photo)
Tyler Nicolai sank 4-of-4 from 3-point range in the win. (Greg Smith photo)
Joe Scott had a game-high 26 points to continue his hot streak. (Greg Smith photo)
