Tommies return home to face North Central (Minn.) Tuesday

St. Paul, Minn. -- St. Thomas Men's Basketball comes off a five-game road trip to host North Central (Minn.) Tuesday, Nov. 29 at Schoenecker Arena. The Tommies and Rams meet for the second time in as many years with a 7 p.m. tip-off.

Tommie Watch
St. Thomas faced its largest loss of the season, 95-66, Saturday, Nov. 26 at Utah. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak by the Tommies.

Three Tommies scored in double figures, led by Will Engels with a NCAA Division I career-high 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting. He added four rebounds and one assist while shooting 3-of-5 from the free throw line. Engels has scored in double digits three times in his career, including 11 points Nov. 11 this season against Chicago State.

Andrew Rohde scored 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including two 3-pointers, to go along with three rebounds, two assists and one steal. He has scored at least 11 points in six of eight games this season.

Ben Nau set a career-high 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range. He chipped in two rebounds and one assist, along with 2-of-2 free throws, in 14 minutes off the bench.

The Tommies show below 50 percent from the field for the third time this season, all coming in losses. The Purple's eight 3-pointers snapped a streak of three straight games with at least 10 made from deep.

Series History
St. Thomas and North Central will meet for the second time in program history. The Tommies came away with a 97-45 win over the Rams Dec. 29, 2021 in St. Paul.

The Purple led by 22 at halftime while only three current Tommies played in the game. Brooks Allen led all returners with 16 points with eight rebounds while Ben Nau added 12 points and Parker Bjorklund scored nine with a team-high 12 rebounds.

Scouting North Central
The Rams are 5-3 overall and will count Tuesday's contest against the Tommies as an exhibition. North Central comes off a win and a loss Nov. 25-26 at the Snyder Classic held in Lincoln, Neb. NCU opened the tournament with an 82-74 win over Nebraska Wesleyan before an 82-76 loss to Buena Vista.

Micah Filer leads the team and the UMAC, and ranks 36th among NCAA Division II with 21.3 points per game. He's eighth in the country with 24 total 3-point field goals while shooting 44.4 percent from long range and 50.0 percent from the field. Caden Freetly follows with 10.8 points per game and Tanner Holtman averages 10.6 points per game. Four Rams pull down at least 5.0 rebounds per game.

North Central is 21st in NCAA DIII with a +17.6 scoring margin while shooting 47.9 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from 3-point range. The Rams average 41.3 rebounds per game and force their opponents to 16.9 turnovers per game.

Above .500
The Tommies have shot above 50 percent from the field in each of their five wins this season. In addition, the Purple shot exactly 42.9 percent from 3-point range in wins over Chicago State, St. Francis Brooklyn, and Troy. St. Thomas has hit at least 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range during four of the last five games.

St. Thomas has totaled five games shooting at least 50 percent from the floor this season after recording six such games last season. The Tommies were 5-1 in those games last season.

The Tommies are tied for 44th in the country shooting 48.8 percent from the field this season.

From the Parking Lot
St. Thomas' 3-point shooting has been on display in recent years, and this season is no different. The Tommies sank 17 3-point field goals against Merrimack on Nov. 19, totaling the Warriors' rebound total in the game.

The St. Thomas program record for 3-pointers in a game was 15 from 1992-2018. Since 2018, the Tommies have made at least 17 3-pointers in a game on 16 occasions. The current program record is 22, set twice during the 2021-22 season against Northland and North Central.

The Tommies are currently tied for 40th nationally with 9.5 3-pointers per game.

Head in the Clouds
St. Thomas played four of its last five games at high altitude, three at the Zootown Classic (Nov. 17-19) in Missoula Mont, (3,209') and Nov. 26 at Utah (4,226'). After a two-game homestand Nov. 29 and Dec. 3, St. Thomas will close its non-conference road schedule at even higher elevation. The Purple will play Montana State Dec. 8 in Bozeman, Mont., (4,793') and Idaho State Dec. 10 in Pocatello, Idaho (4,462'). As part of the Summit League schedule, St. Thomas will also travel to Denver, Colo., Feb. 4 to take on Denver at its highest elevation (5,279').

Zootown Classic
Riley Miller led St. Thomas with 16.7 points per game on 43.3 percent shooting from the field (13-30) and 46.4 percent from 3-point range (13-28). He also went a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line while playing 32.2 minutes per game.

Andrew Rohde's performance at the Zootown Classic was highlighted by the game-winning basket to lift St. Thomas over Troy. He tied Miller for a team-high 16 points against the Trojans, including shooting 7-of-7 from the free throw line, with three 3-pointers, two assists and one block.

Miller and Rohde were both selected to the Zootown Classic All-Tournament Team.

Parker Bjorklund totaled 10.3 points per game on 58.3 percent shooting (14-24). Kendall Blue led the bench with 9.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. He scored 10 points against Montana and Troy before adding nine against Merrimack.

Reaching the Peak for the First Time
Riley Miller became the first Tommie to earn the TicketSmarter Summit League Peak Performer of the Week on Nov. 21 following his performance at the Zootown Classic.

The 38th Member of the Club
Riley Miller entered the 2022-23 season 27 points shy of 1,000 for his career. After scoring 13 points against No. 9 Creighton in the season opener, he scored 15 against Chicago State to hit the milestone. He became the 38th Tommie all-time to reach the mark, sinking the first of two free throws with 10:22 to play against the Cougars.

Miller began his Tommie career with 145 points as a freshman and 247 as a sophomore before further increasing his scoring average with 133 points in just seven games during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. Miller totaled nearly half of his career scoring total last season with 448 points while 699 of his career total have come behind the 3-point line.

Miller is the first Tommie to reach 1,000 career points since guard Anders Nelson during the 2020-21 season.

The 3-Point Veteran
Riley Miller surpassed 100 made 3-pointers last season and is at 233 made on his 102-game career. He made 103 treys as he converted 41 percent behind the arc last season. Miller was one of just four D-I shooters to make 100 or more threes and convert at 40 percent or better behind the arc.

His nine 3-pointers against Merrimack this season set a new career-high and was one shy of tying the program single-game record, set by Curt Kietzer with 10 in 1987.

Miller leads the Summit League and ranks tied for 13th in the nation with 3.5 3-point field goals per game. He's also second in the league and tied for 38th in the country shooting 47.5 percent from long range and is sixth with 13.6 points per game.

Freshmen Leading the Way
Andrew Rohde has led the Tommies in scoring during four of eight games this season and is second overall scoring 13.0 points per game, which also ranks 11th in the Summit League. He has a team-high 42 field goals made and 3.8 assists per game.

Rohde scored 20 points in the Nov. 13 win over St. Francis Brooklyn, becoming the first Tommie freshman to score at least 20 points in a game since Anders Nelson recorded six games with at least 20 points in 2018-19.

Kendall Blue leads the bench with 7.9 points per game on 44.0 percent shooting (22-50). He's tied for third on the team with 1.8 assists per game. Blue has scored double-digit points in four of the last six games, including a career-high 15 against St. Francis Brooklyn.

Ahjany Lee has made three starts this season in place of Parker Bjorklund, averaging 5.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. He's shooting 48.6 percent from the field and leads the team with five blocks.

NCAA DI Recruiting Class: Part Two
After bringing in Ben Nau and Ryan Dufault during the 2021 Tommie Signing Class, the 2022 class was bumped up to four with the additions of Carter Bjerke (6-9, F), Kendall Blue (6-6, G), Ahjany Lee (6-9, F) and Andrew Rohde (6-6, G).

The 2022 class was ranked number 52 of 368 schools according to Rivals.com. Additionally, only three of the top 50 ranked classes were mid-major schools.

Opponents Across the Country
St. Thomas will face programs from across eight conferences, outside of the Summit League: Big East (Creighton), Big Sky (Montana, Montana State), Horizon (Milwaukee, Green Bay), NEC (St. Francis Brooklyn, Merrimack), Pac 12 (Utah), Sun Belt (Troy), UMAC (Crown, North Central), WAC (Chicago State).

Follow Along
For more information on St. Thomas Men's Basketball, follow along on Twitter at @TommieMBBall and on Instagram at @TommieHoops

Join Us
To reserve your seat to be a part of the Tommies' 2022 season, click HERE to view ticketing information and purchase options.

Tommies return home to face North Central (Minn.) Tuesday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Brooks Allen

Carter Bjerke

Parker Bjorklund

Kendall Blue

Ryan Dufault

Will Engels

Ahjany Lee

Riley Miller

Ben Nau

Andrew Rohde

University of St. Thomas Athletics