University of St. Thomas Athletics
11-116-1/ MIAC
Concordia-Moorhead
7-510-7/ MIAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Thomas | 39 | 40 | 79 |
| Concordia-M'head | 23 | 47 | 70 |
Fast start, free throws fuel Men's Hoops
1/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Senior guard Cortez Tillman scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half, including 10-of-10 at the foul line, to lead No. 5-ranked St. Thomas to a 79-70 road win at Concordia-Moorhead in Monday night's MIAC men's basketball play.
The Tommies (16-1 overall, 11-1 MIAC) opened a three-game lead atop the conference standings as Carleton topped second-place St. John's in overtime to move each team to 8-4.
St. Thomas pushed its win streak to 12, moved to 8-0 in the road, and improved to 9-0 in January over a 24-day span. UST has won its last 56 MIAC games when it reached 70 points.
UST raced to a 39-23 halftime lead and held off a late Cobber surge. Grant Shaeffer and Taylor Montero sanks treys to cap a 12-0 run that built a 35-19 lead late n the first half.
The Toms shot 51 percent from the floor and converted a season-best 89 percent at the line (25-of-28). UST came into the game making just 65 percent at the stripe.
All five UST starters scored in double figures as the Toms recorded a 72-56 advantage in starters' points. Montero had three treys among his 15 points. Sophomore Ryan Boll had a career-high 13 points. Ryan Saarela had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Shaeffer added 13 points.
Concordia started the second half on a 16-5 run to climb within 44-39 with 11:44 to go. But Boll had six points during a 12-2 Tommie run that built the lead back to 15.
St. Thomas plays Wednesday night at Macalester.
