University of St. Thomas Athletics
Tuesday, November 9
Chicago, Ill.
7:00 p.m.
0-1,0-0Summit League
72
at
77
Chicago State
1-0,0-0WAC
1
2
F
St. Thomas (MN)
32
40
72
Chicago St.
33
44
77
Team Stats
UST
CSU
FG%
.433
.509
3FG%
.406
.458
FT%
.778
.615
RB
33
33
TO
10
8
STL
1
6
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
St. Thomas Men’s Basketball rallies back from 12 down in the first half, but ultimately falls in season opener to Chicago State
11/9/2021 9:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Chicago, Ill. – The St. Thomas Men's Basketball Team started its Division I era with a valiant effort against Chicago State, holding a one-point lead with 1:48 remaining in the game before the Cougars scored six unanswered to walk away with the 77-72 win.
"I'm very proud of our guys," said Tommie coach Johnny Tauer on the Skor North AM 1500 postgame show. "We got down early, down 12, and fought back. I think they showed a lot resolve and they worked their way into the game. The first 10 minutes we took a punch, then the next 25 minutes I thought we played very well. The last five minutes we had a couple of turnovers that were costly. But credit to Chicago State, they hit a couple of big shots there.
"Chicago State is deep and athletic, and they exerted a lot of pressure. Our 3-point shooting in the first half (4-of-17), we didn't shoot very well. I thought our guys settled down and I thought played really tough after that. We didn't execute in the last five minutes in a way that's characteristic of us, and that's disappointing, but I'm very proud of the effort.
"Our guys know this, the speed of the game and the athleticism is going to be significantly different than what we are accustomed to. We know what we value and the way we want to play. I think tonight showed us stretches where if we do that, good things happen.
"We head home tonight and get ready for a couple of (weekend) games in New York City. The biggest thing we talk about is competing together and taking something from every game and every experience. I think our guys learned a lot tonight, and while we are not happy with the outcome, I'm really proud of how they competed."
The Tommies trailed by 12 points, 28-16, with 5:59 remaining in the first half before going on a 14-0 run to hold a 30-28 lead with 1:28 left in the opening half.
St. Thomas trailed by only one, 33-32, heading into intermission despite the Cougars having a strong first half shooting the ball, converting on 48 percent (13-27) of their shots from the field and 50 percent (7-14) of their three-point attempts. St. Thomas finished the first half shooting 33 percent (11-33) from the field and 24 percent (4-17) from behind the arc.
The Tommies had the hot hand in the second half, connecting on 60 percent (9-15) of their shots from behind the arc and 56 percent (15-27) of their shots from the field, but turned the ball over seven times in the final 20 minutes. The Tommies couldn't stave off a 13-3 surge by the Cougars in the final 4:44 of the contest to steal the win from St. Thomas.
In the game, St. Thomas connected on 26-of-60 (43.3%) of its shots from the field and 13-of-32 attempts (41%) from behind the arc. Chicago State made 29-of-57 (51%) of its attempts from the field and made 11-of-24 (46%) three-point attempts in the contest.
Individually, senior F Parker Bjorklund led the team with a career-high 16 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Bjorklund connected on 7-of-10 shots from the field, and 2-of-3 shots from the charity stripe.
A total of four Tommies contributed double-digit points. Joining Bjorklund was senior G Riley Miller (14 points), senior G Anders Nelson (13 points), and junior F Brooks Allen (career-high 12 points). Six different players for the Purple contributed at least one three-point basket in the contest.
St. Thomas returns to action Saturday, Nov. 13 at St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y., tip-off is slated for 1 p.m., Minnesota time.
"I'm very proud of our guys," said Tommie coach Johnny Tauer on the Skor North AM 1500 postgame show. "We got down early, down 12, and fought back. I think they showed a lot resolve and they worked their way into the game. The first 10 minutes we took a punch, then the next 25 minutes I thought we played very well. The last five minutes we had a couple of turnovers that were costly. But credit to Chicago State, they hit a couple of big shots there.
"Chicago State is deep and athletic, and they exerted a lot of pressure. Our 3-point shooting in the first half (4-of-17), we didn't shoot very well. I thought our guys settled down and I thought played really tough after that. We didn't execute in the last five minutes in a way that's characteristic of us, and that's disappointing, but I'm very proud of the effort.
"Our guys know this, the speed of the game and the athleticism is going to be significantly different than what we are accustomed to. We know what we value and the way we want to play. I think tonight showed us stretches where if we do that, good things happen.
"We head home tonight and get ready for a couple of (weekend) games in New York City. The biggest thing we talk about is competing together and taking something from every game and every experience. I think our guys learned a lot tonight, and while we are not happy with the outcome, I'm really proud of how they competed."
The Tommies trailed by 12 points, 28-16, with 5:59 remaining in the first half before going on a 14-0 run to hold a 30-28 lead with 1:28 left in the opening half.
St. Thomas trailed by only one, 33-32, heading into intermission despite the Cougars having a strong first half shooting the ball, converting on 48 percent (13-27) of their shots from the field and 50 percent (7-14) of their three-point attempts. St. Thomas finished the first half shooting 33 percent (11-33) from the field and 24 percent (4-17) from behind the arc.
The Tommies had the hot hand in the second half, connecting on 60 percent (9-15) of their shots from behind the arc and 56 percent (15-27) of their shots from the field, but turned the ball over seven times in the final 20 minutes. The Tommies couldn't stave off a 13-3 surge by the Cougars in the final 4:44 of the contest to steal the win from St. Thomas.
In the game, St. Thomas connected on 26-of-60 (43.3%) of its shots from the field and 13-of-32 attempts (41%) from behind the arc. Chicago State made 29-of-57 (51%) of its attempts from the field and made 11-of-24 (46%) three-point attempts in the contest.
Individually, senior F Parker Bjorklund led the team with a career-high 16 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Bjorklund connected on 7-of-10 shots from the field, and 2-of-3 shots from the charity stripe.
A total of four Tommies contributed double-digit points. Joining Bjorklund was senior G Riley Miller (14 points), senior G Anders Nelson (13 points), and junior F Brooks Allen (career-high 12 points). Six different players for the Purple contributed at least one three-point basket in the contest.
St. Thomas returns to action Saturday, Nov. 13 at St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y., tip-off is slated for 1 p.m., Minnesota time.
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