University of St. Thomas Athletics
Sunday, December 10
Chicago, Ill. / Jones Convocation Center
2:00 p.m. Central
at
Chicago State
Photo by: Jason Morales Ortiz
Toms back to the road for Sunday contest at Chicago State
12/8/2023 9:34:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Men’s Basketball continues stretch of seven road games over eight game span
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- St. Thomas men's basketball heads back to the road with a trip to face Chicago State on Sunday, Dec. 10 in Chicago.
The Tommies (5-4) look to extend their winning streak to three games against the Cougars (3-8) with tip-off scheduled for 2 p.m. CT at the Jones Convocation Center.
TUNE IN
Basketball fans can follow along Sunday's action on the Chicago State Athletics YouTube channel HERE. Fans can also follow the game on ESPN 1500 radio or via Live Stats on Chicago State's website HERE.
SERIES HISTORY
Sunday's meeting will be the third all-time between St. Thomas and Chicago State. The first meeting came Nov. 9, 2021, a 77-72 loss in Chicago, Illinois. The Toms evened up the all-time series the following season in Schoenecker Arena as the Purple won 83-61.
In the victory, graduate students Parker Bjorklund and Brooks Allen provided a combined 17 points off 6-of-14 shooting from the field while grabbing a total of 10 rebounds. Sophomore Ahjany Lee went perfect from the field off the bench (6-6) while providing 14 points and seven rebounds in just 16 minutes of play. Kendall Blue came off the bench to record five points, five rebounds, and five assists in 23 minutes of play.
THE OPPOSITION | CHICAGO STATE
The Cougars enter Sunday's contest 3-8 overall and look to continue their winning ways against St. Thomas coming off a 77-54 win over Stetson last Sunday.
The Cougars' offense relies heavily on the junior duo of Wesley Cardet Jr. and Jahsean Corbett who average 17.7 and 13.4 points per game, respectively. After Cardet Jr. and Corbett, the scoring efforts are distributed evenly across the roster without another player averaging more than nine points per game.
Chicago State averages 66.4 points and allows 72.3 points per game. Chicago State's defense grabs 9.6 steals and 2.5 blocks per game, and makes opponents turn the ball over 16.1 times per game on average. A key stat to keep an eye on is the 3-point field goals throughout this contest. The Cougars only allow 5.9 3-point makes per game while the Tommies on average record 8.2 baskets from beyond the arc.
On Tuesday evening, Chicago State University announced it accepted an invitation to join the Northeast Conference in the fall of 2024 in all 25 championship sports. The NEC is expected to have a redesigned eight team conference in the 2024-2025 season with the likes of Farleigh Dickinson, Le Moyne, Long Island, Saint Francis, Stonehill, and Wagner College being the new conference opponents for the Cougars.
THE HOMECOMING QUARTET
Three Tommies return to their hometowns for Sunday's game as Raheem Anthony, Bennett Kwiecinski, Dom Martinelli and Ben Oosterbaan all hail from the Chicago area. Anthony and Kwiecinski are both from Chicago, Martinelli calls Glenview, Ill., home and Oosterbaan is from Hinsdale, Ill. Neither Kwiecinski nor Martinelli played in the first ever meeting between St. Thomas and Chicago State, hosted in Chicago, to begin the 2021-22 season, marking Sunday as the first time playing in the Windy City wearing the Purple and Gray. Anthony and Oosterbaan will also play in Chicago for the first time in their collegiate careers.
LAST TIME OUT | MILWAUKEE
The Tommies captured the lead from the get-go, storming out to a 25-8 advantage over the first 12 minutes. The Toms entered the halftime break with a 38-22 lead, shooting 12-of-27 (44.4 percent) in the first half while holding the Panthers to a 7-of-24 (29.2 percent) shooting performance as the Purple asserted themselves defensively. Both teams came out of the half ready to score with both the Panthers and Toms scoring six points apiece in the first two minutes. The Tommies went on a 7-0 run with 14:26 left on the clock, and they found themselves with their largest lead of the day of 20 points, up 51-31. The Panthers battled back however, as only one Tommie basket in a five-minute span allowed Milwaukee to cut the lead down to 67-60 with three minutes left in the contest. Despite the Panther comeback in the second half, the Tommies' early dominance secured them a hard-fought 75-71 victory.
THE CAST | VS. MILWAUKEE
Graduate senior Raheem Anthony recorded his season high of 23 points, a season high by any Tommie, on 7-of-9 shooting in addition to grabbing a team high six rebounds. He also eclipsed a milestone Wednesday, as he reached the 1,500 career point mark in the victory. Parker Bjorklund tallied 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, while recording four rebounds, along with one steal and one block and the duo of Drake Dobbs and Brooks Allen produced 20 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and three steals. The Tommie starters combined for 67 of the teams 75 points, shooting 21-of-44 from the field, recording 23 rebounds, seven assists, four blocks, and six steals in the victory.
THE 1,500 POINT CLUB
Newcomer Raheem Anthony, a transfer from NCAA DIII Saint Mary's University in Winona, Minn., eclipsed 1,500 career points Dec. 6, 2023 during a 75-71 win over Milwaukee. He was a two-time All-American (NABC, D3hoops.com) in 2022-23 after averaging 24.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game, and shooting 54.5 percent from the field. Anthony started all 78 games played in at Saint Mary's and averaged 19.3 points during three games against St. Thomas during the 2019-20 season.
St. Thomas has five members of the 1,500-point club, all besides Anthony scored the entirety of their points in the Purple and Gray. Anthony is the first Tommie to reach the 1,500 mark since Karnell James (1993-97) who finished his career with 1,854. Six Tommies have transferred in to the program and ended their careers with at least 1,000 points. He's also at 663 career rebounds, including 620 at Saint Mary's, which ranks 13th at St. Thomas.
Anthony is second on the Tommies with 12.1 points per game and leads with 2.7 assists per game, with at least three assists in six games this season. He scored a season-high 23 points, a season high among all Tommies, on 7-of-9 shooting to push him over the 1,500 point mark.
JOINING ELITE COMPANY
Johnny Tauer became one of five active head coaches among all of NCAA to reach 250 career wins with a .740 winning percentage, all with one program, after the Nov. 19 win over Portland State.
The Tommies (5-4) look to extend their winning streak to three games against the Cougars (3-8) with tip-off scheduled for 2 p.m. CT at the Jones Convocation Center.
TUNE IN
Basketball fans can follow along Sunday's action on the Chicago State Athletics YouTube channel HERE. Fans can also follow the game on ESPN 1500 radio or via Live Stats on Chicago State's website HERE.
SERIES HISTORY
Sunday's meeting will be the third all-time between St. Thomas and Chicago State. The first meeting came Nov. 9, 2021, a 77-72 loss in Chicago, Illinois. The Toms evened up the all-time series the following season in Schoenecker Arena as the Purple won 83-61.
In the victory, graduate students Parker Bjorklund and Brooks Allen provided a combined 17 points off 6-of-14 shooting from the field while grabbing a total of 10 rebounds. Sophomore Ahjany Lee went perfect from the field off the bench (6-6) while providing 14 points and seven rebounds in just 16 minutes of play. Kendall Blue came off the bench to record five points, five rebounds, and five assists in 23 minutes of play.
THE OPPOSITION | CHICAGO STATE
The Cougars enter Sunday's contest 3-8 overall and look to continue their winning ways against St. Thomas coming off a 77-54 win over Stetson last Sunday.
The Cougars' offense relies heavily on the junior duo of Wesley Cardet Jr. and Jahsean Corbett who average 17.7 and 13.4 points per game, respectively. After Cardet Jr. and Corbett, the scoring efforts are distributed evenly across the roster without another player averaging more than nine points per game.
Chicago State averages 66.4 points and allows 72.3 points per game. Chicago State's defense grabs 9.6 steals and 2.5 blocks per game, and makes opponents turn the ball over 16.1 times per game on average. A key stat to keep an eye on is the 3-point field goals throughout this contest. The Cougars only allow 5.9 3-point makes per game while the Tommies on average record 8.2 baskets from beyond the arc.
On Tuesday evening, Chicago State University announced it accepted an invitation to join the Northeast Conference in the fall of 2024 in all 25 championship sports. The NEC is expected to have a redesigned eight team conference in the 2024-2025 season with the likes of Farleigh Dickinson, Le Moyne, Long Island, Saint Francis, Stonehill, and Wagner College being the new conference opponents for the Cougars.
THE HOMECOMING QUARTET
Three Tommies return to their hometowns for Sunday's game as Raheem Anthony, Bennett Kwiecinski, Dom Martinelli and Ben Oosterbaan all hail from the Chicago area. Anthony and Kwiecinski are both from Chicago, Martinelli calls Glenview, Ill., home and Oosterbaan is from Hinsdale, Ill. Neither Kwiecinski nor Martinelli played in the first ever meeting between St. Thomas and Chicago State, hosted in Chicago, to begin the 2021-22 season, marking Sunday as the first time playing in the Windy City wearing the Purple and Gray. Anthony and Oosterbaan will also play in Chicago for the first time in their collegiate careers.
LAST TIME OUT | MILWAUKEE
The Tommies captured the lead from the get-go, storming out to a 25-8 advantage over the first 12 minutes. The Toms entered the halftime break with a 38-22 lead, shooting 12-of-27 (44.4 percent) in the first half while holding the Panthers to a 7-of-24 (29.2 percent) shooting performance as the Purple asserted themselves defensively. Both teams came out of the half ready to score with both the Panthers and Toms scoring six points apiece in the first two minutes. The Tommies went on a 7-0 run with 14:26 left on the clock, and they found themselves with their largest lead of the day of 20 points, up 51-31. The Panthers battled back however, as only one Tommie basket in a five-minute span allowed Milwaukee to cut the lead down to 67-60 with three minutes left in the contest. Despite the Panther comeback in the second half, the Tommies' early dominance secured them a hard-fought 75-71 victory.
THE CAST | VS. MILWAUKEE
Graduate senior Raheem Anthony recorded his season high of 23 points, a season high by any Tommie, on 7-of-9 shooting in addition to grabbing a team high six rebounds. He also eclipsed a milestone Wednesday, as he reached the 1,500 career point mark in the victory. Parker Bjorklund tallied 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, while recording four rebounds, along with one steal and one block and the duo of Drake Dobbs and Brooks Allen produced 20 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and three steals. The Tommie starters combined for 67 of the teams 75 points, shooting 21-of-44 from the field, recording 23 rebounds, seven assists, four blocks, and six steals in the victory.
THE 1,500 POINT CLUB
Newcomer Raheem Anthony, a transfer from NCAA DIII Saint Mary's University in Winona, Minn., eclipsed 1,500 career points Dec. 6, 2023 during a 75-71 win over Milwaukee. He was a two-time All-American (NABC, D3hoops.com) in 2022-23 after averaging 24.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game, and shooting 54.5 percent from the field. Anthony started all 78 games played in at Saint Mary's and averaged 19.3 points during three games against St. Thomas during the 2019-20 season.
St. Thomas has five members of the 1,500-point club, all besides Anthony scored the entirety of their points in the Purple and Gray. Anthony is the first Tommie to reach the 1,500 mark since Karnell James (1993-97) who finished his career with 1,854. Six Tommies have transferred in to the program and ended their careers with at least 1,000 points. He's also at 663 career rebounds, including 620 at Saint Mary's, which ranks 13th at St. Thomas.
Anthony is second on the Tommies with 12.1 points per game and leads with 2.7 assists per game, with at least three assists in six games this season. He scored a season-high 23 points, a season high among all Tommies, on 7-of-9 shooting to push him over the 1,500 point mark.
JOINING ELITE COMPANY
Johnny Tauer became one of five active head coaches among all of NCAA to reach 250 career wins with a .740 winning percentage, all with one program, after the Nov. 19 win over Portland State.
| Head Coach | School | Wins | Pct. |
| Mark Few | Gonzaga | 695 | .836 |
| Jeff Young | Walsh | 441 | .758 |
| Joe Lombardi | Indiana (PA) | 404 | .784 |
| Ben McCollum | Northwest Mo. State | 370 | .808 |
| Johnny Tauer | St. Thomas | 251 | .741 |
Tauer is also one of 11 active head coaches to reach 250 career wins with a .740 winning percentage at any program.
Since taking over as head coach in 2011, Tauer has averaged 20.5 wins per season heading into 2023-24. He is the fastest to reach 250 career wins in program history, joining Steve Fritz (594-246) and Tom Feely (417-269). Tauer was a senior with Tommie Basketball when Fritz reached the 250-milestone in 1995 and Fritz was a senior for the program when Feely reached the milestone in 1970-71.
LUCKY 13
Head Coach Johnny Tauer is in his 13th season at St. Thomas as the longest tenured head coach among all Summit League programs and among the top 50 in their current role among all DI men's basketball coaches. He leads league head coaches with a .740 winning percentage and is third in career wins (251).
| 2023-24 Summit League Head Coaches | |||
| Head Coach | School | Wins | Pct. |
| Johnny Tauer | St. Thomas | 252 | .741 |
| Eric Henderson | South Dakota State | 91 | .695 |
| David Richman | North Dakota State | 181 | .605 |
| Paul Sather | North Dakota | 331 | .586 |
| Marvin Menzies | Kansas City | 260 | .583 |
| Eric Peterson | South Dakota | 18 | .450 |
| Jeff Wulbrun | Denver | 32 | .432 |
| Russell Springmann | Oral Roberts | 3 | .429 |
| Chris Crutchfield | Omaha | 24 | .393 |
Tauer's winning percentage of .740 ranks 13th among active head coaches across all of NCAA with at least 10 years of experience. The only head coaches at their current NCAA DI programs for at least 10 seasons with a higher winning percentage than Tauer are John Calipari (Kentucky), Mark Few (Gonzaga), and Bill Self (Kansas).
DOCTOR, DOCTOR
An NCAA Postgraduate Scholar and Academic All-America honoree, Head Coach Johnny Tauer earned master's and PhD degrees in social psychology at UW-Madison. He returned to St. Thomas as a member of the faculty in 2000 before being promoted to full professor in 2011. Tauer taught for 21 years at St. Thomas and is one of the only head college basketball coaches in the nation to be a tenured faculty member and to hold a doctorate in sport-related psychology. He has published academic work on motivation, goal setting and competition in top academic journals, in addition to a book on youth sports, parents and motivation titled "Why Less is More for WOSPs (Well-Intentioned, Overinvolved Sports Parents); How to Be the Best Sport Parent You Can Be."
ALL BUSINESS FOR BJORKLUND
Since joining the Tommies off the intramural courts, it's been all business for Parker Bjorklund as he's averaged double-digit scoring in each of his three seasons and leads the team this season with 14.3 points per game. He put in 12.6 points per game during the program's first DI season in 2021-22 on 54.4 percent shooting from the field. Bjorklund is averaging 14.0 points per game through his career on 52.7 percent shooting, one of two Tommies (Raheem Anthony, 51.7%) with a career field goal percentage above .500 (minimum 250 FGA).
He ranked second in the Summit League last season shooting 49.5 percent from the field and finished 13 games shooting above 50 percent while taking at least seven shots in all games. His 15.1 points per game ranked 10th in the Summit League and he's currently fourth among active Summit League student-athletes in career scoring average (14.1 PPG).
Bjorklund currently sits at 908 career points in 65 career games and has 371 career rebounds, four shy of Brent Longval for 34th all-time at St. Thomas.
THE MAKEUP OF THE TOMMIE ROSTER
The heart of the St. Thomas men's basketball program is comprised from Minnesota natives, including 10 of 15 student-athletes, Head Coach Johnny Tauer and Assistant Coach Cameron Rundles. Four of the remaining five student-athletes hail from Illinois while one is from Wisconsin.
BACK FROM 2022-23
St. Thomas returns 10 letter winners and one redshirt freshman (Carter Bjerke, F), along with four newcomers. Among the newcomers is one transfer (Raheem Anthony, G) and three freshmen. Leading the pack is graduate student forward Parker Bjorklund who was named Preseason All-Summit League First Team. Fellow graduate student forward Brooks Allen also returns after starting all 33 games last season and playing in all 69 games for St. Thomas since joining NCAA Division I. Kendall Blue and Ahjany Lee come back for their sophomore seasons after Blue played in all 33 games, with 22 starts, and Lee played in 32 with four starts.
TAKE CARE OF THE BALL
Tauer's teams have historically taken care of the basketball and last season was no different. The Tommies ranked tied for 11th nationally for fewest total turnovers (327) after leading the category in 2021-22. The Purple also tied for 12th for fewest turnovers per game (9.9) and tied for 50th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.30). Of the 14 teams with as few or fewer turnovers per game, only four (Iowa, NC State, Oral Roberts, Toledo) finished with a higher scoring offense than St. Thomas' 74.2 points per game. St. Thomas recorded 10 or fewer turnovers in 21 of 33 games last season and averages 10.1 per game through nine games, including four games of eight or less, in 2023-24.
POWER FIVE
The 2023-24 season opener was the third game for St. Thomas against a Power Five opponent as the previous two came last season. The Tommies opened the 2022-23 season at No. 9 Creighton (Big East) in front of a crowd of 17,098, holding a 57-56 lead against the Blue Jays with 9:58 to play before ultimately falling. The first Pac-12 opponent for St. Thomas came during a loss at Utah on Nov. 26. The Tommies face another preseason top 10, Power Five opponent this season Dec. 14 at No. 8 Marquette (Big East).
HITTING FROM DEEP
St. Thomas has been one of the top teams in the country in sinking 3-pointers over the past five seasons (2020-21 COVID shortened season excluded). Since joining NCAA Division I in 2021-22, the Tommies have ranked among the top 47 in the nation each season. The trend began in DIII as St. Thomas finished 2018-19 10th and 2019-20 ninth nationally in total 3-pointers made.
SUCCESS ON BOTH SIDES
The Purple were the only Summit League team to rank among the top three in both scoring offense (74.2) and scoring defense (70.2). St. Thomas joined South Dakota State as the only two teams in the league to rank among the top four in both 3-point field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage defense.
PREP CHAMPIONSHIP PEDIGREE
Five of the Tommies' 15 student-athletes have reached the ultimate pinnacle of their high school prep careers, winning state titles, while COVID brought another imminent title run to a halt. Three others also led their programs to Minnesota State Tournament appearances in Kendall Blue (2018-22) and Courtney Brown, Jr., (2015-19) at East Ridge High School and Adam Tauer (2019-23) at Cretin-Derham Hall.
Carter Bjerke - Wayzata HS
- 2020-21 Class AAAA MSHSL State Championship - 2021-22 Runner-Ups
Drake Dobbs - Eden Prairie HS
- 2019-20 28-0 and #10 in the nation (COVID shortened season)
Ryan Dufault - Waseca HS
- 2020-21 Class AA MSHSL State Championship - Game-winner with 3 seconds left
Ben Nau - Brookfield Central HS
- 2018-19 WIAA Division I State Championship
Hayden Tibbits - Wayzata HS
- 2020-21/2022-23 Class AAAA MSHSL State Championship - 2021-22 Runner-Ups
Ahjany Lee - Totino-Grace HS
- 2021-22 Class AAA MSHSL State Championship
A FRESHMAN FEAT
Redshirt freshman Carter Bjerke scored 14 points Nov. 12 against North Central, setting a career high. In doing so, he became the eighth freshman under Head Coach Johnny Tauer with a 14+ point performance within his first three career games.
2022-23
Kendall Blue: 15 pts vs. St. Francis Brooklyn (3rd career game)
Ahjany Lee: 14 pts vs. Chicago State (2nd career game)
Andrew Rohde: 15 pts vs. Creighton (1st career game)
2020-21
Parker Bjorklund: 15 pts vs. Concordia College (Minn.) (2nd career game)
2019-20
Will Engels: 15 pts vs. Whitman (1st career game)
2018-19
Anders Nelson: 24 pts vs. Emerson (2nd career game)
2017-18
Burt Hedstrom: 15 pts vs. St. Scholastica (3rd career game)
Follow Along
For more information on St. Thomas Men's Basketball, follow along on X (formerly Twitter) at @TommieMBBall and on Instagram at @TommieHoops
Join Us
To reserve your seat to be a part of the Tommies' 2023-24 season, click HERE to view ticketing information and purchase options.
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
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