University of St. Thomas Athletics
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California
1-0,0-0Pac-12
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Cal prevails late over Tommies, 71-66
11/6/2023 10:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Brooks Allen leads with 17 points for the Tommies
BERKLEY, Cali. – It was nearly the perfect opening to the 2023-24 season for the University of St. Thomas men's basketball team. The Tommies opened the year in sunny California, taking on the University of California in its first game of the season. While St. Thomas gave Cal everything it could handle, the Tommies were unable to leave with a victory, falling in the closing minutes 71-66.
Graduate student Brooks Allen led the team in scoring with 17 points on 7-13 shooting followed by senior Drake Dobbs with a career high 14 points and graduate student Parker Bjorklund with 11. The team combined for 12 3-pointers, finishing 12-of-28 from beyond the arc, while both teams shot 49 percent from the floor. The Golden Bears outshot the Tommies from the free throw line, going 16-of-22 from the charity stripe compared to 2-of-3 for the Toms, while Cal also won the rebound margin, 31-23.
Recap
It was clear Monday night's game would come down to the wire, as the Tommies and Golden Bears traded leads like trading cards on the playground. In fact, for the entire first half, neither St. Thomas nor Cal led by more than five points, as both teams tried and failed to gain a lead and momentum. The Tommies nabbed the first lead of the night, outscoring the Golden Bears 6-2 through the first two minutes for the early lead. Allen and Bjorkland led St. Thomas' early scoring efforts, while the defense did all it could to keep Cal at bay. It worked for the first five minutes of play until the Golden Bears caught the Tommies and took a 10-8 lead at 14:39 in the first half.
From that moment on, the lead changes and back-and-forth play reached its peak. For every basket Cal scored, St. Thomas had an answer. When the Golden Bears took their first lead of the night, senior Dom Martinelli answered with a three-pointer, swinging the momentum back in the Tommies direction. This ensued for nearly 10 minutes, until Cal seemingly jumped ahead for good at the seven minute mark. Still, St. Thomas hung around, waiting to regain a one point advantage in the closing minutes. Junior Ben Nau and Bjorklund traded baskets with Cal's Fardaws Aimaq in the final minute, but it was Aimaq who had the last laugh. With 1:11 left in the first half, the Golden Bears top player made an easy layup, and the Tommies couldn't answer, resulting in a 35-34 halftime lead for Cal.
St. Thomas went to work in the second half, refusing to let the Golden Bears run away with a victory and eventually regaining a 41-40 advantage on a layup by Martinelli. From 16:15 to 13:47, it looked like the Tommies would run away with the victory, as Allen took over and became St. Thomas' top offensive threat. Still, Allen's efforts weren't enough to put Cal away for good, and the home team managed to crawl its way back into the lead with 10:56 left in regulation.
Once again, lead changes commenced, only this time at the right of a professional basketball team at the trade deadline. With 6:45 left in regulation, it seemed like St. Thomas finally had control of the game thanks another Allen basket and a 60-56 lead. However, the Tommies would be outscored 15-6 in the final six minutes of play, as Cal made five free throws in the closing minutes to secure the 71-66 victory.
Top Tommies
- Brooks Allen (Shakopee, Minn. / Shakopee) led St. Thomas' scoring efforts Monday evening, tallying 17 points on 7-13 shooting. He also tallied four rebounds, two assists, one block and a steal in the loss.
- Drake Dobbs (Eden Prairie, Minn. / Eden Prairie) added 14 points in the loss thanks to his 5-8 shooting performance, including a 2-3 clip from beyond the arc. Parker Bjorklund (Chaska, Minn. / Chaska) was the final Tommies to score in double-digits, closing the night with 11 points.
- Kendall Blue (Woodbury, Minn. / East Ridge) closed the night with a team-leading five rebounds, all of them on the defensive side of the court.
Quoteables
Head Coach Johnny Tauer following Monday's season-opening loss to Mark Madsen's Cal:
"I'm really proud of our guys. I thought they played really inspired basketball against a tough, physical Pac-12 team. Mark does a great job. He's a wonderful person. A lot of respect for them.
"I thought we put ourselves in a spot to win with the way we competed on the defensive end. I thought we were tough-minded, shared the ball well and we shot it well. It was one of those games, I told the guys it's not about one play, one shot, it's just, we were in a tie game late and credit to them. They made a couple plays down the stretch, but I couldn't be more proud of our guys."
Up Next
The Tommies will return to St. Paul, Minnesota for their home opener against Idaho State this upcoming Friday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Schoenecker Arena.
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