Tough shooting leads to 64-51 loss at Green Bay

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Early shooting woes hindered St. Thomas men's basketball Saturday during a 64-51 loss to Green Bay at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wis. Graduate student Raheem Anthony scored 14 points in the second half to lead a comeback charge as the Tommies fall to 3-4 overall and the Phoenix improve to 3-3.

The Tommies shot a season low 31.7 percent (19-60) from the field and 23 percent (5-22) from 3-point range compared to the Phoenix who shot 43.5 percent (20-46) and 79.2 percent (19-24) from the free throw line. St. Thomas was outrebounded by Green Bay, 38-25, and converted 13 UWGB turnovers into just five points.

Recap
The game began with a 12-2 run in favor of Green Bay as St. Thomas failed to connect on its first nine field goal attempts. Sophomore Ahjany Lee added the Tommies' first points with two free throws nearly five minutes into action. Junior Ryan Dufault scored a layup four minutes later, the team's first field goal, to stop the run and spark an 8-3 stretch for the Toms to climb within five, 15-10.

The Phoenix again pulled ahead by double digits before redshirt freshman Carter Bjerke sank his first basket, a 3-pointer, to cut the deficit to 24-17 with 3:59 before halftime. Green Bay scored five of the final seven points of the first half as graduate student Parker Bjorklund put in the final basket of the period to trail, 29-19, with 2:10 to play.

Defense played a role early in the second half as Anthony set the tone with a steal and assist to Bjorklund for a successful layup. Anthony connected on his first 3-pointer over three minutes later, which was one of just four made over the first 10 minutes for the Tommies.

Bjerke made his second 3-pointer followed by an and-one conversion by Bjorklund cut the game to single digits as the Toms trailed, 42-33, with 9:07 to play. Anthony scored 11 of his team-high 18 points over the final nine minutes as Green Bay's lead hovered around 10 points throughout that span.

Top Tommies
- Raheem Anthony led St. Thomas' scoring efforts Saturday afternoon with 18, on 6-of-10 shooting, including 5-of-8 makes from the free throw line. He also led the Tommies in assists for the fourth time this season (1-3).
- Parker Bjorklund added 11 points on 5-of-14 shooting and tied with Ahjany Lee for the team lead with four rebounds, his 32nd time leading the Tommies in rebounds through his career.

Quoteables
Head Coach Johnny Tauer following Saturday's loss
"Really disappointing game. I thought we were well prepared, and our guys were excited to play, and we certainly didn't shoot it well. Credit to Green Bay. They play tough defensively. They really kept us in front, and I didn't think we exposed some things inside that we really needed to that would get our outside shots going in a little bit easier.

"All-in-all, this is coming off a really big win against Portland State. Tough one today. We did not play our best but credit to them. They really competed well here at home and in the victory defensively."

Up Next
The Tommies will continue on the road, traveling to Kalamazoo, Michigan to take on the Western Michigan Broncos. This will take place on Friday, December 1st with tipoff scheduled for 4:00 p.m. CT at the University Arena.

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For more information on St. Thomas Men's Basketball, follow along on X (formerly Twitter) at @TommieMBBall and on Instagram at @TommieHoops

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-- St. Thomas Athletics --

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Team Stats

Raheem Anthony

Parker Bjorklund

Carter Bjerke

Drake Dobbs

Players Mentioned

Raheem Anthony

Carter Bjerke

Parker Bjorklund

Ryan Dufault

Ahjany Lee