University of St. Thomas Athletics
28-3
Augustana (Ill.)
29-2
Final Four trip next for Men's Hoops
3/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By DOUG HENNES
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Grant Shaeffer may have said it best, and he said it more than one time.
"I am on Cloud 9," the junior guard said on the court Saturday night after scoring 24 points to lead the St. Thomas men's basketball team to an 86-76 win over Augustana and earn a berth in the NCAA Division III Final Four. "We all are!"
"I am on Cloud 9," he repeated in the news conference after the No. 8 Tommies (28-3) cut down the nets on the home court of top-ranked Augustana (29-2). "Cloud 9 . . ."
Shaeffer and his teammates had good reason to exult. They came into the sectional final against Augustana as an underdog, facing a team that had won 17 games in a row, was 15-0 at home, and was No. 1 in the d3hoops.com poll for all but four weeks of the season.
The win, coming five years after the Tommies defeated Augustana here en route to winning their first national title, propels them into the Final Four for the third time in six years. They will play Christopher Newport (30-1) at 6:30 p.m. CST Friday in Salem, Va.
The other semifinal game will match Benedictine (31-0) and Amherst (25-6), with the winners to meet for the title at 5 p.m. Saturday.
"I knew we'd be seeing as good a team in the country as there is," coach John Tauer said of Augustana. "The challenge tonight was a daunting one, but what I love about our guys is that they're always ready for the opportunity."
As he has throughout the playoffs, Tauer again pointed to St. Thomas' balanced scoring as a key factor. In addition to Shaeffer's 24, four seniors finished in double figures: Ryan Saarela with 18, Cortez Tillman 15 (all in the second half), Taylor Montero 13 and Jimmy Remke 12. The five-some accounted for all but four of the Tommies' points.
"These six guys (including starting forward Ryan Boll) are not all interchangeable, but they complement each other well," Tauer said. He also praised their "grittiness" on defense in holding the nation's fourth-best shooting team (.509) to .446 shooting and their 41-31 dominance on the boards over an opponent ranked eighth with a nine-rebound margin per game.
Augustana breaks on top early
The host Vikings, playing before an overflow crowd of 2,308 fans, broke to a 9-4 lead, but St. Thomas went on a 20-4 run over a 5:30 span to lead 24-13 midway through the first half. Remke and Montero hit back-to-back 3-pointers, Remke followed with a layup and a free throw and Saarela tipped in a Montero miss for 11 straight points at the end of the run.
Augustana wasn't fazed. The Vikings scored 11 points in a row to tie the game at 24-24 with 4:32 remaining in the half, aided by four St. Thomas turnovers, 0 for 4 shooting from the field and two missed free throws. A subsequent 11-2 run gave Augustana a 39-32 lead with 12 seconds left.
Shaeffer drove into the lane, got turned around and, with his back to the basket, flipped a shot over his head. The ball banked in off the glass with 1.3 seconds to go and Shaeffer was fouled. He made the free throw and St. Thomas trailed 39-35 at the break.
Tauer said at halftime he emphasized the need to protect the ball better and cut down on turnovers. The Tommies committed nine in the first half, thanks to seven Augustana steals, but had only four turnovers in the second half.
The teams traded baskets for the first seven minutes, and the Tommies trailed 56-55 when they scored 15 of the next 17 points to lead 70-58 with 6:41 remaining in the game. The Vikings twice cut the deficit to five points but could draw no closer, and St. Thomas scored its last nine points from the free-throw line.
Tillman was one of the igniters for St. Thomas in the second half. He was scoreless in the first half, sitting down early with two fouls, but he hit four of seven shots, including two 3-pointers, and five free throws in the final 20 minutes.
"I have the best teammates in the world," Tillman said. "They picked me and wouldn't let me get down on myself." He also credited his coaches, who "kept telling me to be aggressive, just like I always have been, and I finally got some shots to drop."
A key point came when the Tommies were ahead 77-71 with 1:14 to go. Montero blocked an Augustana shot and broke loose down the court, making a layup. He was fouled on the play, and after making the free throw St. Thomas had a nine-point lead with 48 seconds to go.
The heads-up play impressed Tauer, as did Shaeffer's steady performance with Tillman sitting on the bench in the first half.
"Grant's ability to withstand the Augustana pressure . . . was incredible," Tauer said.
Shaeffer played all but 1.3 seconds of the game, but he shrugged off any concerns about weariness. "I think I will be tomorrow," he said, "but I could go another 40 (minutes) right now."
He laughed, and he spoke about his team's underdog status heading into the game. "Augustana is an excellent team," he said. "We've been hearing that all year. You know something? We're pretty good, too."
He made the comments as Tauer climbed the ladder under a basket to cut the final several pieces of the net. He snipped one piece, hesitated and look toward the crowd of players and fans on the floor. "Finish it! Finish it!" they yelled. Two more cuts and the net was his.
Tommie Notes
The win was the first time that St. Thomas has defeated a No. 1-ranked team since d3hoops.com polls began 17 years ago.
Augustana scored three more field goals than the Tommies, but they won the game at the free-throw line with a 26-8 edge as the Vikings rang up 24 fouls. Twenty of the St. Thomas free throws came in the second half.
Montero, Tillman and Saarela all were freshmen on the St. Thomas team that lost to Mary Hardin-Baylor in the NCAA semifinals three years ago. "This feels great tonight," Montero said, "but we have some unfinished business. We want to win a national title."
This was the third time in six years that St. Thomas and Augustana have squared off in the national tournament. The Tommies won here 72-56 in 2011 en route to the national title, but lost to the Vikings 88-77 in an opening-round game two years ago.
Augustana's only other loss this season was 77-75 in overtime on Jan. 5 to CCIW rival Elmhurst, which St. Thomas defeated 94-81 last weekend to get into the Sweet 16 round. The Vikings were runner-ups in Division III last year, losing in the title game to UW-Stevens Point.
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