University of St. Thomas Athletics
13-1MIAC, 18-1
Saint Mary's
1-13MIAC, 4-15
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Thomas | 42 | 37 | 79 |
| Saint Mary's | 36 | 21 | 57 |
Montero, Alipate leads M. Hoops win
2/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Senior guard Marcus Alipate sank a career-best seven 3-pointers in a 21-point scoring night as No. 2-ranked St. Thomas scored a 79-57 road win over St. Mary's Wednesday night in men's basketball action in Winona.
Junior forward Taylor Montero converted 5-for-6 beyond the arc and closed with a career-high 23 points for the Tommies (18-1 overall, 13-1 MIAC).
Coach John Tauer's team clinched a conference playoff berth -- the 15th consecutive season UST has made the postseason.
UST maintained a two-game lead on second-place St. Olaf with six games left in the conference season. The Toms also improved to 9-1 in road games this season.
The Division III leader in 3-point proficiency, St. Thomas sank 14 of its 3-point tries to tie a season high for threes made. UST made 14-of-29 from beyond the arc.
The Toms used a 19-2 mid-game run on each side of halftime to break open a close game. The Tommie starters outscored SMU's starters 66-35.
Mark Schumacher had 15 points and six rebounds for the Cardinals (4-15, 1-13).
UST senior Conner Nord had 12 points and eight rebounds and moved to 964 points and 667 rebounds on his 108-game career.
St. Thomas, 9-0 in Schoenecker Arena, plays four of its last six games at home starting Saturday against Carleton (3 p.m.).
