University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, February 18
St. Paul, Minn.
7:00 p.m. Central
vs
Western Illinois
Game Notes: Men's Basketball hosts Western Illinois to close the home portion of the 2022-23 season
2/15/2023 3:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball
St. Thomas Men's Basketball finishes up their home stretch at Schoenecker Arena as the Tommies welcome Western Illinois for the final home game of the season. The Tommies are coming off of a 30-point victory over Kansas City last Saturday and look to bounce back from a loss in Macomb, Ill. earlier this season while celebrating Senior Night.
The Tommies host the Leathernecks Saturday for the fourth all-time meeting, with WIU currently sitting tied with St. Thomas in the Summit League standings (8-7). With a 11-2 home record, the Tommies look to continue their season success in a push to reach the highest possible seed ahead of the Summit League tournament.
Earlier this season, the Tommies lost to Western Illinois 60-56 on the road, with the outstanding freshman duo of Andrew Rohde and Kendall Blue scoring 28 points combined in the contest.
The Tommies, the league's second ranked offense (74.8 points per game) face the league's third ranked offense in Western Illinois (73.5 points per game) on Saturday.
Freshman standout, Andrew Rohde leads the Tommies with 15.8 points per game, while grad students Parker Bjorklund and Riley Miller average 14.7 and 13.1 points per game, respectively.
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 8-7 record in conference play and a 17-11 overall record, St. Thomas sits in 4th place in the Summit League standings.
Heading into this week's game, the Tommies are looking to gather as much momentum as possible heading into the Summit League tournament.
Last Time Out
Less than a month after suffering a 21-point loss in Kansas City, St. Thomas avenged it with a 30-point, 73-43 win on Saturday. The 43 points allowed are a Division I era low after previously holding St. Francis Brooklyn to 48 in November.
Heading down the stretch of the regular season, 13 Tommies played at least three minutes in the win.
The Tommies jumped out to a 10-0 lead through the first two-and-a-half minutes. Grad student Parker Bjorklund poured in the first seven points before freshman Andrew Rohde hit a three before the Roos scored their first bucket of the game nearly three minutes into the contest.
St. Thomas led by as many as 21 points in the first half, 32-11 with just under four minutes remaining in the first half. At that point in the game, the Roos had only converted on three field goal attempts.
Kansas City finished the first half on a 9-2 run to cut the Purple's lead to 14 points, 34-20 at intermission.
The Tommie defense held the Roos to a 6-of-27 effort from the field including an 0-for-5 showing behind the arc in the first half. Kansas City connected on 7-of-12 showing from the charity stripe.
St. Thomas connected on 11-of-27 of its attempts from the field in the first half and went 4-of-17 from behind the arc and 8-of-11 from the stripe.
Bjorklund led the Tommie offense in the first half with 11 points, while Rohde contributed nine first-half points.
At the midway point of the second half, an old-fashioned three-point play from Rohde pushed the lead to 21 points, before a traditional three-pointer from Bjorklund opened the Tommies largest lead of the game, 24 points, with 9:21 to play.
Through the first 12 minutes of the second half, St. Thomas outscored Kansas City 23-8 cruising to the 30-point win.
Nine different Tommies contributed points in the win led by Bjorklund with 20 points, his fifth 20-plus point outing of the season. Rohde (12) and Lee (11) joined him in double figures.
As a team, St. Thomas connected on 46 percent (24-of-52) of its shots from the field and 21 percent (8-of-26) from behind the arc with an 81 percent conversion rate from the charity stripe with only seven turnovers.
Record-Breaking Crowd
St. Thomas Men's Basketball welcomed Oral Roberts and its perfect 12-0 Summit League record into Schoenecker Arena on Thursday night. A facility-record crowd of 2,013 saw the Tommies hold multiple double-digit first-half leads and climb within three points, 90-87, with 31 seconds to play in an eventual 95-88 loss.
Max Abmas' 27 points helped Oral Roberts (22-4 overall, 13-0 Summit) win for the 19th time in its last 20 contests, while St. Thomas (16-11, 7-7) lost at home for just the second time in 12 outings.
Through the first few minutes of play, neither team was able to create much separation. With 16:39 showing on the first-half clock, Oral Roberts held a 12-8 lead. Over the next 4:26, St. Thomas went on a 16-2 run to open its first 10-point lead of the game, 24-14, with 12:34 to play in the first.
The Tommies held a second 10-point lead, 27-17, a minute later before Oral Roberts had an offensive explosion.
The Golden Eagles went on a 20-3 run to open a 43-32 lead with 3:11 to play. The Tommies answered with a 9-0 run of their own, started with an old-fashioned three-point play by freshman Ahjany Lee and a three-pointer from fellow freshman Andrew Rohde, his 18th point of the first half. The run was capped off by a three from sophomore Ben Nau to cut the ORU lead to 43-41 with 1:24 remaining in the first.
Oral Roberts connected on one more shot before heading into the locker room leading at halftime 44-41.
Rohde led all scorers with 18 first-half points on a 7-of-10 showing from the field, including a 4-of-7 efforts from deep. Grad student Parker Bjorklund added seven first-half points on a 3-of-4 showing from the field.
As a team St. Thomas connected on 45 percent of its shots from the field in the first half and 40 percent from deep, with an uncharacteristic 63 percent showing from the charity stripe.
Miller made four three pointers to start the second half, giving St. Thomas a 58-55 lead with 15:13 to play. A bucket from Bjorklund gave St. Thomas a 62-57 lead with 13:36 to play.
With less than 10 minutes to play, St. Thomas led 68-66 before Oral Roberts went on a 12-0 run to open a 78-68 cushion. Miller hit his fifth three of the second half to stop the run with 7:36 to play.
Miller's sixth three of the second half cut the Golden Eagle lead to six, 84-78, with five minutes to play. Freshman Kendall Blue's fourth point of the game cut the ORU lead to four points, 84-80, with 4:14 to play. Blue's trey would draw with within three points, 88-85 with 2:12 to play.
Miller stepped to the line, down five with 31 seconds to play and knocked down a pair of free throws to make it a one-possession game, ORU leading 90-87. But the Golden Eagles converted a three-point play to open a 92-87 lead with 20 seconds to play, which proved insurmountable, ending in a 95-88 win for ORU.
Rohde led the Tommies with a career-high 25 points on a 10-of-15 showing from the field, including a 4-of-8 effort from deep. Miller added 23 points, including six second-half threes with a 6-of-9 showing from behind the arc. Bjorklund was the third Tommie to net double digit points, finishing the game with 13.
As a team, St. Thomas connected on 50 percent (30-of-60) of its shots from the field and 41 percent (16-of-39) from behind the arc. The Tommies attempted 39 shots from behind the arc compared to 21 two-point shots. The Purple found their rhythm from the stripe in the second half, making 7-of-8 free throws to finish the game with a 12-of-16 (75 percent) showing from the stripe.
About Western Illinois
Western Illinois travels to Schoenecker Arena carrying a 8-7 Summit League record this season and is currently looking to bounce back from a two-game losing streak at home to Oral Roberts (L,82-73), and Kansas City (L,76-64).
• Western Illinois looks to receive the highest seed possible heading into the Summit League tournament, with a top three seed in contention going into the conference's final three game stretch.
• Senior guard Trenton Massner is currently second in the Summit League in scoring averaging 18.7 points per game. Fellow senior guard Alec Rosner and fifth year center Vuk Stevanic, average 14.1 and 10.6 points per game, respectively.
•During that winning streak, Trenton Massner averaged a sizzling 27.2 points per game, including a career high 46 points against North Dakota on Jan. 23.
• The Leathernecks ended January with a scorching five game winning streak against fellow Summit League competition, including wins over St. Thomas, South Dakota State, and South Dakota.
• Last time out, WIU lost to conference leading Oral Roberts in a 82-73 contest, as the Leathernecks nearly overcame a 24-point deficit in the second half.
•Western Illinois currently sits tied for fourth in the Summit League standings after suffering a pair of losses to Oral Roberts and Kansas City last week.
• Western Illinois ranks 2nd in the conference in Assists Per Game with an average of 13.8 assists per contest. They are also third in the conference in blocked shot tallying up 94 blocks as a team on the year.
•Trenton Massner holds the record for most points scored in a game this season in the Summit League, scoring 46 points converting on 16-of-21 field goals and dropping in 9-of-12 3-point field goal attempts.
• In the regular season, the Leathernecks are averaging 73.5 points per game while only allowing 72.3 points per game to opposing teams, putting them at a +1.2 scoring margin ranking third in the Summit League.
•Junior forward Jesiah West leads the team in rebounds averaging 6.9 rebounds per game including two 13 rebound performances against St. Thomas and North Dakota.
• Sharing the ball hasn't been an issue for Trenton Massner this season either. Overall he's averaging 4.9 assists per game in conference action which ranks him first in the Summit league.
• Head coach Rob Jeter joined the team in March, 2020 and carries with him 25 years of coaching experience and seven NCAA Tournament Appearances. Before leading the helm of the Leathernecks, Jeter has previous coaching experience at the University of Minnesota, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, and a head coaching stint at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Above .500
The Tommies have shot above 50 percent from the field in 10 of their 17 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 totaled ten games shooting at least 50 percent from the floor this season after recording six such games last season. The Tommies are 10-0 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 tipped off conference with wins against UND and NDSU before falling at USD and SDSU. The Tommies rank the conference's top-5 in numerous standings and has a handful of players in the individual statistical category top-10. Below are rankings and statistics through Feb. 15. These stats and rankings include totals from all 28 of the Tommies 2022-23 season.
Rank Category Stat
Team
2nd Free Throw Percentage 78.9 percent
2nd Assist to Turnover Ratio 1.32 assist/turnover ratio
2nd Scoring Margin +4.8 points per game
2nd Turnover Margin 2.07
2nd Scoring Offense 74.8 points per game
3rd 3-point FG Percentage 36.0 percent
3rd Assists 13.1 per game
2nd Scoring Defense 70.1 points allowed per game
3rd Steals 5.79 per game
3rd 3-point FGs Made 9.0 per game (251 total)
5th Team FG Percentage 45.6 percent
Individual
2nd 3-point FG Percentage R. Miller, 41.8 percent
3rd Free Throw Percentage R. Miller, 89.8 percent
2nd 3-point FGs Made Per Game R. Miller, 2.9 made 3pt FG per game
4th Assist to Turnover Ratio A. Rohde, 1.9 assist to turnover ratio
4th Steals A. Rohde, 1.4 steals per game
2nd Field Goal Percentage P. Bjorklund, 51.4 percent
4th Field Goal Percentage A. Rohde, 44.5 percent
4th Assists Per Game A. Rohde, 3.7 assists per game
8th Scoring A. Rohde, 15.8 points per game
4th Steals A. Rohde, 1.4 steals per game
7th Steals B. Allen, 1.3 steals per game
10th Minutes A. Rohde, 32.0 minutes per game
10th Blocked Shots A. Lee, 0.7 per game
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.
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').
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 822 of his 1,273 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 286 made in his 120-game career, 11 shy of the St. Thomas all-time record set by Bryan Schnettler from 2004-07 (297). 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.
Freshmen Leading the Way
Andrew Rohde has led the Tommies in scoring in 12 of his 26 games played this season and leads the team scoring 15.8 points per game, which ranks first among all Summit League freshmen and eighth overall. He has a team-high 145 field goals made and 3.7 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. Rohde had his third 20-plus point outing in the Tommies first Summit League road game at USD when he scored 22 points and posted a DI era freshman scoring record with 24 points in a win over Omaha and again against South Dakota. Rohde dropped 20 in a road win at Omaha and most recently scored 25 against Oral Roberts on Feb. 9.
Kendall Blue ranks fifth on the team with 7.6 points per game on 42.8 percent shooting. Blue has scored double-digit points in 12 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 27 games this season, his first on Nov. 13 versus St. Francis Brooklyn. He set career highs of 14 points against Chicago State and also recorded eight rebounds Dec. 31. Lee leads the team with 18 blocks on the season, ranks sixth on the team with 5.2 points per game and third in rebounding, averaging 4.2 boards per game.
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.
The Tommies host the Leathernecks Saturday for the fourth all-time meeting, with WIU currently sitting tied with St. Thomas in the Summit League standings (8-7). With a 11-2 home record, the Tommies look to continue their season success in a push to reach the highest possible seed ahead of the Summit League tournament.
Earlier this season, the Tommies lost to Western Illinois 60-56 on the road, with the outstanding freshman duo of Andrew Rohde and Kendall Blue scoring 28 points combined in the contest.
The Tommies, the league's second ranked offense (74.8 points per game) face the league's third ranked offense in Western Illinois (73.5 points per game) on Saturday.
Freshman standout, Andrew Rohde leads the Tommies with 15.8 points per game, while grad students Parker Bjorklund and Riley Miller average 14.7 and 13.1 points per game, respectively.
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 8-7 record in conference play and a 17-11 overall record, St. Thomas sits in 4th place in the Summit League standings.
Heading into this week's game, the Tommies are looking to gather as much momentum as possible heading into the Summit League tournament.
Last Time Out
Less than a month after suffering a 21-point loss in Kansas City, St. Thomas avenged it with a 30-point, 73-43 win on Saturday. The 43 points allowed are a Division I era low after previously holding St. Francis Brooklyn to 48 in November.
Heading down the stretch of the regular season, 13 Tommies played at least three minutes in the win.
The Tommies jumped out to a 10-0 lead through the first two-and-a-half minutes. Grad student Parker Bjorklund poured in the first seven points before freshman Andrew Rohde hit a three before the Roos scored their first bucket of the game nearly three minutes into the contest.
St. Thomas led by as many as 21 points in the first half, 32-11 with just under four minutes remaining in the first half. At that point in the game, the Roos had only converted on three field goal attempts.
Kansas City finished the first half on a 9-2 run to cut the Purple's lead to 14 points, 34-20 at intermission.
The Tommie defense held the Roos to a 6-of-27 effort from the field including an 0-for-5 showing behind the arc in the first half. Kansas City connected on 7-of-12 showing from the charity stripe.
St. Thomas connected on 11-of-27 of its attempts from the field in the first half and went 4-of-17 from behind the arc and 8-of-11 from the stripe.
Bjorklund led the Tommie offense in the first half with 11 points, while Rohde contributed nine first-half points.
At the midway point of the second half, an old-fashioned three-point play from Rohde pushed the lead to 21 points, before a traditional three-pointer from Bjorklund opened the Tommies largest lead of the game, 24 points, with 9:21 to play.
Through the first 12 minutes of the second half, St. Thomas outscored Kansas City 23-8 cruising to the 30-point win.
Nine different Tommies contributed points in the win led by Bjorklund with 20 points, his fifth 20-plus point outing of the season. Rohde (12) and Lee (11) joined him in double figures.
As a team, St. Thomas connected on 46 percent (24-of-52) of its shots from the field and 21 percent (8-of-26) from behind the arc with an 81 percent conversion rate from the charity stripe with only seven turnovers.
Record-Breaking Crowd
St. Thomas Men's Basketball welcomed Oral Roberts and its perfect 12-0 Summit League record into Schoenecker Arena on Thursday night. A facility-record crowd of 2,013 saw the Tommies hold multiple double-digit first-half leads and climb within three points, 90-87, with 31 seconds to play in an eventual 95-88 loss.
Max Abmas' 27 points helped Oral Roberts (22-4 overall, 13-0 Summit) win for the 19th time in its last 20 contests, while St. Thomas (16-11, 7-7) lost at home for just the second time in 12 outings.
Through the first few minutes of play, neither team was able to create much separation. With 16:39 showing on the first-half clock, Oral Roberts held a 12-8 lead. Over the next 4:26, St. Thomas went on a 16-2 run to open its first 10-point lead of the game, 24-14, with 12:34 to play in the first.
The Tommies held a second 10-point lead, 27-17, a minute later before Oral Roberts had an offensive explosion.
The Golden Eagles went on a 20-3 run to open a 43-32 lead with 3:11 to play. The Tommies answered with a 9-0 run of their own, started with an old-fashioned three-point play by freshman Ahjany Lee and a three-pointer from fellow freshman Andrew Rohde, his 18th point of the first half. The run was capped off by a three from sophomore Ben Nau to cut the ORU lead to 43-41 with 1:24 remaining in the first.
Oral Roberts connected on one more shot before heading into the locker room leading at halftime 44-41.
Rohde led all scorers with 18 first-half points on a 7-of-10 showing from the field, including a 4-of-7 efforts from deep. Grad student Parker Bjorklund added seven first-half points on a 3-of-4 showing from the field.
As a team St. Thomas connected on 45 percent of its shots from the field in the first half and 40 percent from deep, with an uncharacteristic 63 percent showing from the charity stripe.
Miller made four three pointers to start the second half, giving St. Thomas a 58-55 lead with 15:13 to play. A bucket from Bjorklund gave St. Thomas a 62-57 lead with 13:36 to play.
With less than 10 minutes to play, St. Thomas led 68-66 before Oral Roberts went on a 12-0 run to open a 78-68 cushion. Miller hit his fifth three of the second half to stop the run with 7:36 to play.
Miller's sixth three of the second half cut the Golden Eagle lead to six, 84-78, with five minutes to play. Freshman Kendall Blue's fourth point of the game cut the ORU lead to four points, 84-80, with 4:14 to play. Blue's trey would draw with within three points, 88-85 with 2:12 to play.
Miller stepped to the line, down five with 31 seconds to play and knocked down a pair of free throws to make it a one-possession game, ORU leading 90-87. But the Golden Eagles converted a three-point play to open a 92-87 lead with 20 seconds to play, which proved insurmountable, ending in a 95-88 win for ORU.
Rohde led the Tommies with a career-high 25 points on a 10-of-15 showing from the field, including a 4-of-8 effort from deep. Miller added 23 points, including six second-half threes with a 6-of-9 showing from behind the arc. Bjorklund was the third Tommie to net double digit points, finishing the game with 13.
As a team, St. Thomas connected on 50 percent (30-of-60) of its shots from the field and 41 percent (16-of-39) from behind the arc. The Tommies attempted 39 shots from behind the arc compared to 21 two-point shots. The Purple found their rhythm from the stripe in the second half, making 7-of-8 free throws to finish the game with a 12-of-16 (75 percent) showing from the stripe.
About Western Illinois
Western Illinois travels to Schoenecker Arena carrying a 8-7 Summit League record this season and is currently looking to bounce back from a two-game losing streak at home to Oral Roberts (L,82-73), and Kansas City (L,76-64).
• Western Illinois looks to receive the highest seed possible heading into the Summit League tournament, with a top three seed in contention going into the conference's final three game stretch.
• Senior guard Trenton Massner is currently second in the Summit League in scoring averaging 18.7 points per game. Fellow senior guard Alec Rosner and fifth year center Vuk Stevanic, average 14.1 and 10.6 points per game, respectively.
•During that winning streak, Trenton Massner averaged a sizzling 27.2 points per game, including a career high 46 points against North Dakota on Jan. 23.
• The Leathernecks ended January with a scorching five game winning streak against fellow Summit League competition, including wins over St. Thomas, South Dakota State, and South Dakota.
• Last time out, WIU lost to conference leading Oral Roberts in a 82-73 contest, as the Leathernecks nearly overcame a 24-point deficit in the second half.
•Western Illinois currently sits tied for fourth in the Summit League standings after suffering a pair of losses to Oral Roberts and Kansas City last week.
• Western Illinois ranks 2nd in the conference in Assists Per Game with an average of 13.8 assists per contest. They are also third in the conference in blocked shot tallying up 94 blocks as a team on the year.
•Trenton Massner holds the record for most points scored in a game this season in the Summit League, scoring 46 points converting on 16-of-21 field goals and dropping in 9-of-12 3-point field goal attempts.
• In the regular season, the Leathernecks are averaging 73.5 points per game while only allowing 72.3 points per game to opposing teams, putting them at a +1.2 scoring margin ranking third in the Summit League.
•Junior forward Jesiah West leads the team in rebounds averaging 6.9 rebounds per game including two 13 rebound performances against St. Thomas and North Dakota.
• Sharing the ball hasn't been an issue for Trenton Massner this season either. Overall he's averaging 4.9 assists per game in conference action which ranks him first in the Summit league.
• Head coach Rob Jeter joined the team in March, 2020 and carries with him 25 years of coaching experience and seven NCAA Tournament Appearances. Before leading the helm of the Leathernecks, Jeter has previous coaching experience at the University of Minnesota, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, and a head coaching stint at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Above .500
The Tommies have shot above 50 percent from the field in 10 of their 17 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 totaled ten games shooting at least 50 percent from the floor this season after recording six such games last season. The Tommies are 10-0 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 tipped off conference with wins against UND and NDSU before falling at USD and SDSU. The Tommies rank the conference's top-5 in numerous standings and has a handful of players in the individual statistical category top-10. Below are rankings and statistics through Feb. 15. These stats and rankings include totals from all 28 of the Tommies 2022-23 season.
Rank Category Stat
Team
2nd Free Throw Percentage 78.9 percent
2nd Assist to Turnover Ratio 1.32 assist/turnover ratio
2nd Scoring Margin +4.8 points per game
2nd Turnover Margin 2.07
2nd Scoring Offense 74.8 points per game
3rd 3-point FG Percentage 36.0 percent
3rd Assists 13.1 per game
2nd Scoring Defense 70.1 points allowed per game
3rd Steals 5.79 per game
3rd 3-point FGs Made 9.0 per game (251 total)
5th Team FG Percentage 45.6 percent
Individual
2nd 3-point FG Percentage R. Miller, 41.8 percent
3rd Free Throw Percentage R. Miller, 89.8 percent
2nd 3-point FGs Made Per Game R. Miller, 2.9 made 3pt FG per game
4th Assist to Turnover Ratio A. Rohde, 1.9 assist to turnover ratio
4th Steals A. Rohde, 1.4 steals per game
2nd Field Goal Percentage P. Bjorklund, 51.4 percent
4th Field Goal Percentage A. Rohde, 44.5 percent
4th Assists Per Game A. Rohde, 3.7 assists per game
8th Scoring A. Rohde, 15.8 points per game
4th Steals A. Rohde, 1.4 steals per game
7th Steals B. Allen, 1.3 steals per game
10th Minutes A. Rohde, 32.0 minutes per game
10th Blocked Shots A. Lee, 0.7 per game
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.
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').
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 822 of his 1,273 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 286 made in his 120-game career, 11 shy of the St. Thomas all-time record set by Bryan Schnettler from 2004-07 (297). 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.
Freshmen Leading the Way
Andrew Rohde has led the Tommies in scoring in 12 of his 26 games played this season and leads the team scoring 15.8 points per game, which ranks first among all Summit League freshmen and eighth overall. He has a team-high 145 field goals made and 3.7 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. Rohde had his third 20-plus point outing in the Tommies first Summit League road game at USD when he scored 22 points and posted a DI era freshman scoring record with 24 points in a win over Omaha and again against South Dakota. Rohde dropped 20 in a road win at Omaha and most recently scored 25 against Oral Roberts on Feb. 9.
Kendall Blue ranks fifth on the team with 7.6 points per game on 42.8 percent shooting. Blue has scored double-digit points in 12 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 27 games this season, his first on Nov. 13 versus St. Francis Brooklyn. He set career highs of 14 points against Chicago State and also recorded eight rebounds Dec. 31. Lee leads the team with 18 blocks on the season, ranks sixth on the team with 5.2 points per game and third in rebounding, averaging 4.2 boards per game.
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.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballTommie Men's Basketball: Summit League Tournament Cinematic Recap 2025
Thursday, March 20
Press Conference: Tommie Men's Basketball Postgame vs Kansas City 03-01-25
Sunday, March 02
Press Conference: Tommie Men's Basketball Postgame vs Omaha 02/15/25
Sunday, February 16
Tommie Men's Basketball vs NDSU: Cinematic Recap
Wednesday, February 05
