University of St. Thomas Athletics
South Dakota
Game Notes - Tommies aim to remain atop the Summit League Standings in a pair of road games in the Mount Rushmore State
12/28/2022 7:48:00 AM | Men's Basketball
St. Paul, Minn. - St. Thomas Men's Basketball takes to the road for the team's first Summit League road trip as they travel to the Mount Rushmore State. The Tommies start the trip Vermillion, S.D. to face the University of South Dakota Coyotes on Thursday with a 7 p.m. tip-off.
The Tommies face the South Dakota State University Jackrabbits on Saturday in a New Year's Eve class slated for 2 p.m. in Brookings, S.D.
All of the St. Thomas Men's Basketball games are called by the voice of the Tommies, Corbu Stathes. The broadcasts can be heard live on skornorth.com/listen or by tuning your radio dial to 1500 am in the Twin Cities area.
Summit League Standings
With a perfect 2-0 start to conference play and an 11-4 overall record, St. Thomas sits by itself atop the Summit League standings entering the first weekend of action in the 2023 portion of the Tommies second season as a Division I institution. Due to winter weather, St. Thomas and North Dakota State were the only two teams to play both of their scheduled games to start conference action.
Tommie Watch
On a frigid day in St. Paul, the St. Thomas men's basketball team improved to 11-4 on the season and 2-0 in Summit League action with a 78-68 win over North Dakota State on Wednesday.
Despite connecting on a season-low 25 percent of their shots from behind the arc, the Tommies were able to find efficiency in other offensive areas, including only six turnovers on the day to boost the team's winning streak to four games and complete the 2022 portion of the schedule with more wins than the team posted all of last season.
In its two conference games this season, St. Thomas has committed only 11 turnovers and forced 26 combined turnovers from UND and NDSU.
The Tommies started slow out of the gates and found themselves in a 10-2 hole with 15:30 to play in the first half, but outscored the Bison, 32-20 in the remainder of the first half to take a 34-30 lead into intermission.
As a team, St. Thomas uncharacteristically connected on only 1-of-10 shots from behind the arc in the first half. The Tommies made up for the cold shooting start by out rebounding NDSU 16-14 in the first 20 minutes and forced seven Bison turnovers on five steals.
Grad Student Parker Bjorklund, fresh off a career-best 29-point outing less than 48 hours ago, jump started the Purple's offensive efforts leading St. Thomas with 11 first-half points on a 5-of-8 showing from the field. Junior Courtney Brown Jr. contributed eight points off the bench in the first half in addition to three rebounds and a block.
St. Thomas came roaring out of halftime, scoring seven points in the first 90 seconds of the second half to open a 41-30 lead with 18 minutes to play in the game. With just over 15 minutes to play, the Tommies opened a 15-point lead, 50-35, when freshman Kendall Blue converted the old-fashioned three-point play.
The Bison chipped the Tommie lead to 10 points, 62-52 with 7:25 to play and St. Thomas in the bonus. The Tommies next four points came at the charity stripe to push the lead to 14, 66-52 with six minutes to play. NDSU scored the next five points to bring the St. Thomas lead to single digits, 66-57 with just under five minutes to play.
With exactly two minutes to play, senior Brooks Allen pushed the Tommie lead to 11 points, 72-61 with a pair of free throws, the Bison answered and pressured the Purple with the inbound. St. Thomas was able to break the full-court press and Brown slammed home the easy offensive play to keep the lead at 11 points. NDSU was never able to trim the St. Thomas lead to much less than four points as the Tommies walked away with the 78-68 win.
For a second-straight game, grad student Parker Bjorklund led the Tommies with 19 points and a team-best six rebounds. He was joined in double-digits with Blue with 15 points, senior Riley Miller with 13 points and Allen with 12 points.
As a unit, St. Thomas connected on 52 percent (28-of-54) of its shots from the field, 25 percent (4-of-16) and 82 percent (18-of-22) from the charity stripe. The Purple out rebounded the Bison 28-26 in the contest.
Checkin' in on the Coyotes
South Dakota dropped the Summit League opener in Kansas City Monday night by a final score of 62-45. Kansas City outrebounded South Dakota 40-27 and managed to turn the Coyotes over 16 times. The Coyotes fall to 5-8 (0-1 Summit) while the Roos improve to 5-9 (1-0 Summit).
The Roos' tenacious defense limited USD to 13 made baskets on 43 attempts. KC hauled in 17 offensive rebounds and recorded 20 second-chance points. The Coyotes had 27 total rebounds led by eight from Damani Hayes.
South Dakota's biggest lead of the game came five minutes into the first half after a three-point basket from Paul Bruns. Kansas City gained the lead less than three minutes later on an 8-0 run and never looked back. The Roos led by 11 heading into the break and held USD to 19 points in the first 20 minutes.
The Roos led by as much as 21 in the second half and won the Summit League opener by 17 points.
Tasos Kamateros led the Coyotes with 11 points. Plitzuweit was the second Coyote in double-figures with 10 points. Bruns scored nine points on three three-pointers. Miles Branch made his Coyote debut tonight and played seven minutes. As a team, South Dakota shot 30 percent from the floor and 36 percent from three.
Scouting State
Oral Roberts completed a higher shooting percentage by more than 20% over South Dakota State propelling the Golden Eagles to a 79-40 victory against the Jackrabbits on Monday, Dec. 19, in the Mabee Center to begin Summit League play.
SDSU had one lead in the contest and it was after its first field goal attempt, an Alex Arians 3-pointer, which he drained with 30 seconds off the clock. The two teams exchanged baskets in the opening minutes, but the Golden Eagles pushed their advantage to double digits for good just over 11 minutes into the game.
Oral Roberts held a 40-21 lead at the halftime break. ORU took control of the contest by outshooting SDSU 44.7-25.8% in the first 20 minutes – including a 37.5-16.7% margin from deep – along with forcing nine Jackrabbit turnovers.
The Golden Eagles built off a strong first half by going 15-for-28 (53.6%) from the field in the remaining 20 minutes. The Jackrabbits were unable to get anything going as SDSU followed up a first half with eight field goals with another eight in the second half.
Oral Roberts improved to 10-3 overall and picked up the win in both teams' first matchup of conference action. SDSU dropped to 5-8 this season.
NET Ranking
St. Thomas entered the week ranked 141 of 363 teams in the NCAA Evaluation Tool Ranking, second among all Summit League teams. Only Oral Roberts is ranked highest than St. Thomas at 50.
The Tommies have played two games against top 50 teams (Utah, 41st/Creighton, 34th) and have wins against Troy (112th) and Milwaukee (173rd).
Above .500
The Tommies have shot above 50 percent from the field in nine of their 11 wins this season. In addition, the Purple shot exactly 42.9 percent from 3-point range in wins over Chicago State, St. Francis Brooklyn, Troy, and North Dakota. St. Thomas has hit at least 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range in eight of its 15 games.
St. Thomas has totaled nine games shooting at least 50 percent from the floor this season after recording six such games last season. The Tommies are 9-0 in those games this season compared to 5-1 in those games a season ago.
Climbing the Summit
In just its second year of Division I and Summit League membership, St. Thomas is not only atop the rankings with a perfect 2-0 start to the conference circuit, but it is also in the conference top-5 in numerous standings and has a handful of players in the individual statistical category top-10.
Below are rankings and statistics through Dec. 28. These stats and rankings include totals from all 15 of the Tommies 2022-23 games.
Rank - Category - Stat
Team
1st - 3-point FG Percentage - 39.7 percent
2nd - Defense - 68.3 points allowed per game
2nd - Scoring Margin - +8.7 points per game
2nd - Team FG Percentage - 48.4 percent
2nd - 3-point FGs Made - 9.2 per game (138 total)
2nd - Free Throw Percentage - 78.7 percent
2nd - Turnover Margin - 1.47
2nd - Assist to Turnover Ratio - 1.28 assist/turnover ratio
3rd - Offense - 77.1 points per game
4th - Opponent FG Percentage Allowed - 44.6 percent
Individual
1st - Free Throw Percentage - R. Miller, 94.7 percent
1st - 3-point FGs Made Per Game - R. Miller, 3.5 made 3pt FG per game
2nd - 3-point FG Percentage - R. Miller, 44.8 percent
5th - Field Goal Percentage - A. Rohde, 45.2 percent
5th - Assists Per Game - A. Rohde, 3.5 assists per game
5th - Steals - A. Rohde, 1.5 steals per game
6th - Assist to Turnover Ratio - A. Rohde, 1.5 assist to turnover ratio
7th - Minutes - R. Miller, 31.7 minutes per game
8th - Scoring - R. Miller, 15.2 points per game
9th - Scoring - A. Rohde, 14.5 points per game
10th - Steals - B. Allen, 1.1 steals per game
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 a season-high 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.
St. Thomas has recorded double digit 3-pointers during six of its 15 games and sank at least nine in 10 games. The Tommies are currently 16th nationally shooting 39.65 percent from 3-point range and are tied for 41st with 9.2 3-pointers per game.
Head in the Clouds
St. Thomas played four of a five game stretch 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 played Montana State Dec. 8 in Bozeman, Mont., (4,793') before taking on 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').
Reaching the Peak
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. 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.
Just over a month later, fellow grad student Park Bjorklund earned TicketSmarter Summit League Peak Performer of the Week on Dec. 27 after a pair of career games helping the Tommies to a 2-0 start in conference action. Bjorklund scored a career-high 29 points in the team's first conference game of the year against North Dakota and followed up with a 19-point effort against North Dakota State to help the Tommies to a 2-0 start in conference action. The Chaska, Minn., native averaged 24 points per game over the first series of Summit League action, connected on 66 percent (21-of-32) from the field, and averaged 4.5 rebounds per game.
Zootown Classic
In addition to Miller's award winning performance, freshman 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.
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 738 of his 1,145 of his career points have come behind the 3-point line.
The 3-Point Veteran
Riley Miller surpassed 100 made 3-pointers last season and is at 257 made in his 109-game career, 40 shy of the St. Thomas all-time record set by Bryan Schnettler from 2004-07. Miller made 103 treys as he converted 41 percent behind the arc last season. He 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. It's also the second-best 3-point performance in NCAA D-I this season.
Miller is third in the nation with 51 total 3-pointers and leads the Summit League and is tied for ninth nationally with 3.6 3-point field goals per game. He also leads the league and is tied for 27th in the country shooting 44.8 percent from long range and is eighth in the conference with 15.2 points per game.
Freshmen Leading the Way
Andrew Rohde has led the Tommies in scoring in six of his 13 games played this season and ranks second the team scoring 14.5 points per game, which ranks first among all Summit League freshmen and seventh overall. He has a team-high 71 field goals made and 3.5 assists per game.
Rohde scored 20 points during 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. Rohde followed up with a career-high 22 points Dec. 8 at Montana State and recorded nine rebounds, becoming the first Tommie with at least 20 points and nine rebounds since Connor Bair with 26 points and 11 rebounds on Feb. 9, 2019 and the first freshman to do so since at least 2012-13.
Kendall Blue leads the bench with 8.1 points per game on 45.7 percent shooting. He has scored double-digit points in five games, including a career-high 15 against St. Francis Brooklyn and North Dakota State. Blue made his first career start Nov. 29 versus North Central.
Ahjany Lee has made four starts in 15 games this season, his first on Nov. 13 versus St. Francis Brooklyn. He set career highs of 14 points and seven rebounds Nov. 11 against Chicago State.
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.
