University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, January 1
St. Paul, Minn.
2:00 p.m.
8-7,2-1Summit League
89
vs
66
Western Illinois
10-5,1-2Summit League
1
2
F
Western Ill.
27
39
66
St. Thomas (MN)
43
46
89
Team Stats
WIU
UST
FG%
.456
.534
3FG%
.222
.467
FT%
.625
.813
RB
29
32
TO
11
10
STL
3
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Thomas Pelowitz
Men’s Basketball ushers in 2022 with Summit League win over Western Illinois
1/1/2022 4:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
St. Paul. Minn. – The St. Thomas Men's Basketball Team lead for 39:01 of the game and never trailed Western Illinois (10-5, 1-2 Summit League) to improve to 8-7 on the season and 2-1 in the Summit League.
St. Thomas shot 59 percent from the field and 62 percent from behind the arc in the second half to stave off an early second-half push by Western Illinois.
"I'm very proud of the way the guys competed today," said Head Coach Dr. Johnny Tauer. "I'm very grateful for all of the support from the crowd. I thought that our resolve against an outstanding Western Illinois team, which is really well coached and has great size inside, prolific scorers on the outside really forced us to defend as a team. I thought our guys moved the ball and were really unselfish on offense. I thought the energy that both our defense and the crowd brought helped transition us into offense and hit some big threes. More than anything, I think this is a game that shows us the different types of teams we play may present different challenges. If our guys stick to the game plan, trust each other and execute, that will give us a chance to win."
The Tommies exploded to an early 22-6 lead through the first 9:32 of the contest. Senior F Parker Bjorklund accounted for seven of the first 22 Purple points.
The Leathernecks battled their way back within 12 points, 40-27, with just over one minute to play in the opening frame. A huge three-point basket by grad student G Ryan Lindberg with seconds remaining gave St. Thomas a 43-27 lead at halftime.
In an uncommonly turnover laden first half for St. Thomas in which the Tommies committed six turnovers but forced six Western Illinois turnovers. As a team, the Purple connected on 15-of-31 (48 percent) of their shots from the field and 6-of-17 (35 percent) from behind the arc. St. Thomas assisted on seven of their 15 made field goals in the first half.
Individually, Lindberg poured in 11 points in the first half on a 2-of-4 shooting effort from behind the arc, and a perfect 5-of-5 showing from the charity stripe. Bjorklund added nine points in the first 20 minutes and senior G Kevin Cunningham contributed seven points off the bench in the first half.
The first five minutes of the second half saw the Leathernecks jump out on a 17-6 run to cut the St. Thomas lead to five point, 49-44, the lowest deficit by Western Illinois since the opening minutes of the contest.
With just under 15 minutes to play in the contest, senior G Anders Nelson took over scoring 10 of the next 12 points for the Purple and got down and dirty with a diving jump ball, which counted as a steal for the team's leading assister. With that 14-5 run, St. Thomas opened up a 63-51 lead and captured all of the momentum behind a ruckus Schoenecker Arena crowd and enabled St. Thomas to capture an 89-66 win.
Individually, six Tommies contributed double-digit points led by Nelson with 20 points, he shot 8-of-11 from the field, added five rebounds and five assists and played a team-high 32 minutes. Joining him in double figures were grad student G Burt Hedstrom (16), senior G Riley Miller (13), Cunningham (13), Bjorklund (12), and Lindberg (11).
As a team, St. Thomas connected on 31-of-58 (53 percent) of their shots from the field and 14-of-30 (47 percent) from behind the arc. They dished out 17 assists and out-rebounded the Leathernecks 32-29.
The Purples returns to action Thursday as they host Oral Roberts at 7:00 p.m. in Schoenecker Arena. Oral Roberts advanced to the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
St. Thomas shot 59 percent from the field and 62 percent from behind the arc in the second half to stave off an early second-half push by Western Illinois.
"I'm very proud of the way the guys competed today," said Head Coach Dr. Johnny Tauer. "I'm very grateful for all of the support from the crowd. I thought that our resolve against an outstanding Western Illinois team, which is really well coached and has great size inside, prolific scorers on the outside really forced us to defend as a team. I thought our guys moved the ball and were really unselfish on offense. I thought the energy that both our defense and the crowd brought helped transition us into offense and hit some big threes. More than anything, I think this is a game that shows us the different types of teams we play may present different challenges. If our guys stick to the game plan, trust each other and execute, that will give us a chance to win."
The Tommies exploded to an early 22-6 lead through the first 9:32 of the contest. Senior F Parker Bjorklund accounted for seven of the first 22 Purple points.
The Leathernecks battled their way back within 12 points, 40-27, with just over one minute to play in the opening frame. A huge three-point basket by grad student G Ryan Lindberg with seconds remaining gave St. Thomas a 43-27 lead at halftime.
In an uncommonly turnover laden first half for St. Thomas in which the Tommies committed six turnovers but forced six Western Illinois turnovers. As a team, the Purple connected on 15-of-31 (48 percent) of their shots from the field and 6-of-17 (35 percent) from behind the arc. St. Thomas assisted on seven of their 15 made field goals in the first half.
Individually, Lindberg poured in 11 points in the first half on a 2-of-4 shooting effort from behind the arc, and a perfect 5-of-5 showing from the charity stripe. Bjorklund added nine points in the first 20 minutes and senior G Kevin Cunningham contributed seven points off the bench in the first half.
The first five minutes of the second half saw the Leathernecks jump out on a 17-6 run to cut the St. Thomas lead to five point, 49-44, the lowest deficit by Western Illinois since the opening minutes of the contest.
With just under 15 minutes to play in the contest, senior G Anders Nelson took over scoring 10 of the next 12 points for the Purple and got down and dirty with a diving jump ball, which counted as a steal for the team's leading assister. With that 14-5 run, St. Thomas opened up a 63-51 lead and captured all of the momentum behind a ruckus Schoenecker Arena crowd and enabled St. Thomas to capture an 89-66 win.
Individually, six Tommies contributed double-digit points led by Nelson with 20 points, he shot 8-of-11 from the field, added five rebounds and five assists and played a team-high 32 minutes. Joining him in double figures were grad student G Burt Hedstrom (16), senior G Riley Miller (13), Cunningham (13), Bjorklund (12), and Lindberg (11).
As a team, St. Thomas connected on 31-of-58 (53 percent) of their shots from the field and 14-of-30 (47 percent) from behind the arc. They dished out 17 assists and out-rebounded the Leathernecks 32-29.
The Purples returns to action Thursday as they host Oral Roberts at 7:00 p.m. in Schoenecker Arena. Oral Roberts advanced to the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
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