University of St. Thomas Athletics
30-3
Wooster
31-3
On the Summit: Fritz, Toms take first NCAA crown
3/19/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
STORY BY DOUG HENNES
PHOTOS BY MIKE EKERN
SALEM, Va. - Amid the whoops and the high fives and the tears, players and coaches and fans alike uttered one word over and over and over Saturday when St. Thomas won its first men's national basketball championship with a 78-54 conquest of Wooster:
"Unbelievable!"
No, really, one reporter asked Tyler Nicolai in the news conference after the game. "How does it feel?"
"It's unbelievable!" replied the senior All-American guard, who scored 11 points and was chosen the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four tournament. "Just unbelievable. My last game in college . . . something we worked for every single day . . . and we got it done."
Done, indeed, and with authority.
The Tommies (30-3) fell behind 11-2 in the first five minutes but exploded with a 34-5 run over the next 10 minutes to take a 20-point lead and effectively put the game out of reach. The Fighting Scots cut the gap to 10 early in the second half but St. Thomas responded with seven straight points and never led by less than 14 the rest of the way.
The winning margin tied the largest in Division III playoff history, matching UW-Stevens Point's 73-49 win over Rochester in 2005.
"It's obviously (here's that word again . . .) an unbelievable feeling for us," St. Thomas coach Steve Fritz said in the post-game news conference. "It's something that these men, as young guys throughout their lives, aspired to be here today and come home a winner."
The win was No. 594 for Fritz in his career as St. Thomas coach, and none was sweeter or perhaps more unexpected in terms of its convincing nature. He expected a tough battle with Wooster (31-3), which had rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit to defeat Williams on Friday night, and worried how the Tommies would handle the Fighting Scots' sharpshooters.
With full-court pressure defense, that's how - the trademark of this St. Thomas team. Not only were the shots falling for the Tommies during that 34-5 run in the first half, but the defense cracked down, forcing eight Wooster turnovers with six steals. Wooster finished with 18 turnovers on 13 St. Thomas steals, while the Tommies had only nine turnovers.
Two Cretin-Derham Hall alumni led the charge during the spree. Sophomore forward John Nance (right) had 10 points, including back-to-back three-pointers and three free throws after he was fouled on a shot behind the arc, and junior center Tommy Hannon added seven. Anders Halvorsen, Alex Healy and Nicolai also hit three-pointers during the run.
"We just got in a rhythm," said Nance, who matched Hannon's 16 points on the day. "They were doubling on Tommy and that gave us some open looks. He'd kick it out and somebody would knock it down."
Wooster coach Steve Moore credited the Tommies' full-court pressure with making the difference and said the Fighting Scots weren't able to establish any consistent offense.
"We needed to be more aggressive in attacking that press, in getting people further down the court," he said.
For the half, the Tommies had 10 three-point plays - seven on shots and three on layups and free throws. When Nicolai hit his trey to give St. Thomas its biggest lead of the half at 39-17, seven of his team's previous 10 shots had been three-pointers and an eighth resulted in a three-point play.
"It was just one of those days," said Healy, who finished with 15 points, six rebounds and four assists. "We felt we couldn't miss in the first half. I think it's the best we have played offensively (in his four-year career)."
Despite the 43-26 halftime lead, the Tommies vowed not to get complacent after the break. They knew Wooster had stormed back from a 17-point deficit with less than nine minutes to beat Williams less than 24 hours earlier.
"After last night, we knew 17 points might not be a big enough lead," Nance said. "We just wanted to make sure we played hard for 40 minutes. That's our motto: Play hard for 40 minutes."
"At halftime, we decided it was 0-0 and that we had to keep pushing," said senior forward Anders Halvorsen, whose 10 points came on 4-for-5 shooting. "Just keep pushing."
Push they did, though the Fighting Scots tried valiantly to pull themselves back into the game. After the Tommies opened the second half on a Healy three-point play - layup, foul and free throw to extend the lead to 20 - Wooster went on a 10-0 run in less than two minutes to cut the gap in half.
Healy responded with another layup, senior forward Teddy Archer hit a jumper and Nicolai nailed a three-pointer to restore the lead to 17 points. The teams traded baskets thereafter and Fritz emptied the bench with less than a minute to go.
As the final horn sounded, explosions sounded from the top of the arena and confetti rained on the celebrating Tommies at center court. They received their championship plaque and Nicolai brought it to Fritz, his coach for 119 games and a 106-13 record that is tops in Division III over the last four years.
Hannon, named to the all-tournament team with Nicolai, paid tribute to Fritz and his 44 years as a Tommie: four as a player, nine as an assistant coach and 31 as head coach.
"Coach Fritz is a legend," Hannon told reporters. "To be part of a team that brings him his first national championship is special."
Fritz looked at Hannon and said, "Us old post guys stick together, Tommy."
Senior forward Brady Ervin had another stellar game off the bench - six points, three assists and three steals in 20 minutes - and also praised Fritz.
"Deep down, that was part of our motivation," he said. "When you step back, you look at his face and you see how much it means to him."
The title means a lot to Ervin, too. The All-American safety starred for two St. Thomas football teams that made it to the Division III quarterfinals the last two seasons before losing.
"It feels great," he said, "but it hasn't set in it. It's a weird feeling, actually. We just won a national championship!"
Backup guard Peter Leslie, when told that the Leslie family now has two national titles - brother Dan knocked in the game-winning run to win the 2009 baseball title for St. Thomas - shook his head in wonder.
"They both came against Wooster," he said.
"Unbelievable."
Click here to view box score:
http://www.woosterathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2010-11/files/woom0319.htm
