University of St. Thomas Athletics
13-9,4-5Summit League
Western Illinois
11-8,4-4Summit League
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Men’s Basketball's late rally falls short in loss at Western Illinois
1/21/2023 4:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Macomb, Ill. – With 26 seconds to play, a layup from senior Brooks Allen cut the Western Illinois lead to one point, 55-54, but the Tommies were unable to secure the victory, falling 60-56 in conference action.
The Leathernecks scored the first points of the game taking an early 2-0 lead before St. Thomas took its first lead of the game, 5-2 and didn't trail after. The Tommies led by as many as nine points in the first half before taking a five-point, 28-23 lead into halftime.
The Tommie defense forced nine first-half turnovers by the Leathernecks, but were only able to convert nine points off those turnovers. St. Thomas held Western Illinois to a 20 percent (1-of-5) showing from behind the arc, while the Tommies converted on 25 percent (1-of-4) from deep. 20-of-28 points in the opening half for the Purple came in the paint.
Freshman Andrew Rohde led all scorers with nine first-half points. Rohde added two assists, two steals and two rebounds in 17 minutes played in the first half.
Western Illinois outscored the Tommies 11-6 in the first five minutes of the second half to tie the game at 34-34 with 15:00 to play. Less than a minute later, the Leathernecks took their first lead of the game 37-36 with 14:06 to play. WIU had its largest lead of the game, five points, 43-38 with just under 10 minutes to play.
After cutting the lead to four points, 53-49 with 1:21 to play, the Tommies battled within one point, 55-54 with 26 seconds remaining before the Leathernecks outscored St. Thomas 5-2 in the final 26 seconds.
Rohde tallied a game-high 19 points and was joined in double-digit points by Allen who netted 13 points.
As a team, St. Thomas connected on a DI era low two made-threes in the game. The Tommies shot 40 percent (22-of-55) from the field, and 13 percent (2-of-16) from behind the arc. St. Thomas forced 13 WIU turnovers and the Purple scored 40 points in the paint.
The Tommies return to the friendly confines of Schoenecker Arena on Thursday as they face South Dakota State, a game presented by Wings Financial. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
