University of St. Thomas Athletics
Thursday, February 23
Fargo, N.D.
7:00 p.m. Central
at
North Dakota State
Photo by: Wesley Dean
Men’s Basketball aims to finalize Summit League Tournament position and sweep North Dakota teams
2/22/2023 10:30:00 AM | Men's Basketball
St. Paul, Minn. -- St. Thomas Men's Basketball finishes up its regular season on the road in Fargo, N.D., against the Bison on Thursday, before heading to face the Fighting Hawks of North Dakota in Grand Forks, N.D., on Saturday. The Tommies are coming off of a 13-point victory over Western Illinois last Saturday at Schoenecker Arena and look to continue their perfect record against the pair of North Dakota teams this season.
The Tommies face North Dakota State on Thursday in a game with major Summit League standings implications. The Tommies and Bison are tied for third place in the conference with both teams sitting at a Summit League record of 9-7 heading into the final weekend.
Earlier this season, the Tommies beat NDSU 78-68 at home, with graduate senior Parker Bjorklund tallying 19 points (8-12 FG) along with 6 rebounds. Freshman guard Kendall Blue recorded 15 points (5-9 FG), respectively. 48 hours earlier, the Tommies defeated UND 75-62 at home, with the graduate senior duo of Parker Bjorklund and Riley Miller combining for 53 of the Tommies 75 points in the contest.
The Tommies, the league's second ranked offense (75.1 points per game) face the league's fourth ranked offense in North Dakota State (73.0 points per game) on Thursday and the league's sixth ranked offense in North Dakota on Saturday (71.2 points per game).
Freshman standout, Andrew Rohde leads the Tommies with 16.2 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.
Last Time Out
Freshmen Andrew Rohde, Ahjany Lee and Kendall Blue combined for 49 points, 21 boards and nine assists to lead Tommie Men's Basketball to Saturday night's 82-69 home victory over Western Illinois before 1,600-plus spectators at Schoenecker Arena.
Coach Johnny Tauer's Tommies (18-11 overall, 9-7 Summit) avenged a close January road loss at Western Illinois. They also reached 18 wins in season two of the Division I era, secured a spot in the top six of the Summit League standings, locked up a first-division league finish at fifth place or better, and improved to 12-2 on their home court. The Purple also avoid the No. 7-10 seed and No. 8-9 seed play-in game as a No. 6 or better seed for the 10-team March 3-7 conference tournament.
Rohde scored 19 of his game-high 26 points in the second half, including 8-of-8 made at the free throw line.
Lee contributed a career-best 11 rebounds and recorded his first college double-double, and the first double-double for the Tommies this season, with 14 points and 11 boards off the bench. That helped the Toms claim a 16-5 edge in bench scoring.
Parker Bjorklund had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Riley Miller sank three treys and finished with 12 points. Blue chipped in nine points, five boards and four assists.
St. Thomas trailed 29-22 late in the first half, but five different players scored during a 14-0 run over the final 3:30 before halftime to produce a 36-29 lead at the break. The Toms made 20-of-23 free throws in the second half to hold off WIU's comeback bid.
Record-Breaking Crowd
St. Thomas Men's Basketball welcomed Oral Roberts and its perfect 12-0 Summit League record into Schoenecker Arena on Feb. 9. 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.
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.
About North Dakota State
North Dakota State welcomes the Tommies to Scheels Center carrying a 12-16 overall record this season and are currently looking to bounce back from a loss on the road to Oral Roberts (L,74-66).
• Junior forward Grant Nelson is currently fifth in the Summit League in scoring averaging 17.6 points per game and leading the league in rebounds averaging 9.0 rebounds per game. Fellow junior guard Boden Skunberg and sophomore forward Andrew Morgan, average 14.3 and 10.6 points per game, respectively.
• The Bison started the new year with a scorching five game winning streak against fellow Summit League competition, including wins over North Dakota, South Dakota State, and South Dakota.
• Last time out, NDSU lost to conference leading Oral Roberts in a 74-66 contest, as the Bison nearly overcame a 19-point deficit and only trailed by four with 1:30 to play before ORU made nine free throws in the final minute.
•North Dakota currently sits tied for third in the Summit League standings after starting the month of February with a near .500 4-3 record in conference play.
• NDSU ranks 3rd in the conference in Rebounds Per Game with an average of 36.4 rebounds per contest. They are also fourth in the conference in blocked shot tallying up 85 blocks as a team on the year.
•Grant Nelson holds the fifth and seventh spot for most points scored in a game this season in the Summit League, scoring 36 and 35 points combining for 27 made field goals and dropping in 15-of-22 free throw attempts in the two contests
• In the regular season, the Bison are averaging 73.0 points per game while allowing 72.9 points per game to opposing teams, putting them at a +0.1 scoring margin ranking fifth in the Summit League.
•Grant Nelson ranks 1st on the team in five different categories for the Bison, including points (17.6), rebounds (9.0), assists (2.1), steals (0.9), and blocks (1.7).
• Head coach David Richman is currently in his ninth year as the head men's basketball coach at North Dakota State University joining the team back in 2015. In his first seven seasons as a head coach, Richman has led the Bison to three NCAA Tournament berths and five Summit League Tournament championship games. He is the second-fastest coach in NDSU history to reach 100 wins and carried the school to their second Division 1 tournament win in school history during March Madness.
Findings on the Fighting Hawks
North Dakota host the Tommies at Betty Engelstad Sioux Center this Saturday carrying a 5-11 Summit League record this season and are currently looking to continue success following a road win Saturday against Kansas City (W,81-73).
• Saturday marks the fourth all-time meeting between the Fighting Hawks and the Tommies, with UST leading the series 2-1.
• Freshman forward B.J. Omot is currently leading the Fighting Hawks in scoring averaging 11.7 points per game. Fellow junior guard and forward Matt Norman and Tsotne Tsartsidze, average 11.2 and 10.4 points per game, respectively.
• The Fighting Hawks started February hot, winning four out of five games with against fellow Summit League competition, including wins over South Dakota, Denver, and an OT thriller against Omaha.
• Last time out, UND beat Kansas City in a 81-73 contest behind a combined 39 points from Brady Danielson and B.J. Omot who shot an outstanding 24-27 from the free-throw line.
• North Dakota ranks 4th in the conference in three-point percentage shooting at a 35.0% clip from beyond the arc. They are also second in the conference in three-point field goals made sitting at 267 threes on the year, averaging 9.2 per game.
•Junior forward Tsotne Tsartsidze leads the team in rebounds averaging 5.3 rebounds per game and has nine games over 8+ rebounds on the year including a 12-rebound performance on Jan. 12 vs Omaha.
• Sharing the ball hasn't been an issue for junior guard Jalun Trent this season either. Overall, he's averaging 2.5 assists per game which ranks him first on the Fighting Hawks.
• Head coach Paul Sather joined the team on May 30, 2019, and carries with him 24 years of coaching experience. Before leading the helm of the Fighting Hawks, Sather won back-to-back conference coach of the year at Northern State and led the Wolves to the NCAA Division 2 championship game. He is entering his fourth season at the helm for North Dakota.
Summit League Basketball Tournament
The 2023 Summit League Men's Basketball Championship takes place March 3-7 at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. The tournament champions will receive automatic berths to the NCAA Division I Basketball Championship.
For the 14th-consecutive year, the men will culminate their seasons in Sioux Falls, S.D., as the 2023 Basketball Championships return to the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, March 3-7. This time, the event will be expanded an extra day and include all 10 teams. The complete championship bracket can be found here.
All-session tickets for the 2023 Men's Championships will be on sale at Ticketmaster.com and in-person at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center box office.
Rank Category Stat
Team
2nd Free Throw Percentage 79.2 percent
2nd Assist to Turnover Ratio 1.29 assist/turnover ratio
2nd Scoring Margin +5.0 points per game
2nd Turnover Margin 1.83
2nd Scoring Offense 75.1 points per game
3rd 3-point FG Percentage 36.0 percent
3rd Assists 3.0 per game
2nd Scoring Defense 70.0 points allowed per game
4th Steals 5.76 per game
3rd 3-point FGs Made 9.0 per game (260 total)
3rd Team FG Percentage 45.6 percent
Individual
2nd 3-point FG Percentage R. Miller, 41.6 percent
3rd Free Throw Percentage R. Miller, 89.2 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, 51.3 percent
4th Field Goal Percentage A. Rohde, 44.6 percent
4th Assists Per Game A. Rohde, 3.8 assists per game
7th Scoring A. Rohde, 16.2 points per game
7th Steals B. Allen, 1.2 steals per game
10th Minutes A. Rohde, 32.4 minutes per game
10th Blocked Shots A. Lee, 0.8 blocks per game
Above .500
The Tommies have shot above 50 percent from the field in 10 of their 18 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. 20. These stats and rankings include totals from all 29 of the Tommies 2022-23 season.
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.
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 867 of his 1,354 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 289 made in his 123-game career, 8 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 27 games played this season and leads the team scoring 16.2 points per game, which ranks first among all Summit League freshmen and seventh overall. He has a team-high 153 field goals made and 3.8 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 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 25 against Oral Roberts on Feb. 9. In the most recent Tommie game versus Western Illinois, Rohde dropped a career high of 26 points on 8-for-17 shooting and 8-for-8 from the free throw line.
Kendall Blue ranks fifth on the team with 7.7 points per game on 43.1 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 28 games this season, his first on Nov. 13 versus St. Francis Brooklyn. He set career highs of 14 points against Western Illinois and also recorded 11 rebounds on Feb.18. Lee leads the team with 21 blocks on the season, ranks sixth on the team with 5.5 points per game and second in rebounding, averaging 4.4 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.
Follow Along
For more information on St. Thomas Men's Basketball, follow along on Twitter at @TommieMBBall and on Instagram at @TommieHoops
The Tommies face North Dakota State on Thursday in a game with major Summit League standings implications. The Tommies and Bison are tied for third place in the conference with both teams sitting at a Summit League record of 9-7 heading into the final weekend.
Earlier this season, the Tommies beat NDSU 78-68 at home, with graduate senior Parker Bjorklund tallying 19 points (8-12 FG) along with 6 rebounds. Freshman guard Kendall Blue recorded 15 points (5-9 FG), respectively. 48 hours earlier, the Tommies defeated UND 75-62 at home, with the graduate senior duo of Parker Bjorklund and Riley Miller combining for 53 of the Tommies 75 points in the contest.
The Tommies, the league's second ranked offense (75.1 points per game) face the league's fourth ranked offense in North Dakota State (73.0 points per game) on Thursday and the league's sixth ranked offense in North Dakota on Saturday (71.2 points per game).
Freshman standout, Andrew Rohde leads the Tommies with 16.2 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.
Last Time Out
Freshmen Andrew Rohde, Ahjany Lee and Kendall Blue combined for 49 points, 21 boards and nine assists to lead Tommie Men's Basketball to Saturday night's 82-69 home victory over Western Illinois before 1,600-plus spectators at Schoenecker Arena.
Coach Johnny Tauer's Tommies (18-11 overall, 9-7 Summit) avenged a close January road loss at Western Illinois. They also reached 18 wins in season two of the Division I era, secured a spot in the top six of the Summit League standings, locked up a first-division league finish at fifth place or better, and improved to 12-2 on their home court. The Purple also avoid the No. 7-10 seed and No. 8-9 seed play-in game as a No. 6 or better seed for the 10-team March 3-7 conference tournament.
Rohde scored 19 of his game-high 26 points in the second half, including 8-of-8 made at the free throw line.
Lee contributed a career-best 11 rebounds and recorded his first college double-double, and the first double-double for the Tommies this season, with 14 points and 11 boards off the bench. That helped the Toms claim a 16-5 edge in bench scoring.
Parker Bjorklund had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Riley Miller sank three treys and finished with 12 points. Blue chipped in nine points, five boards and four assists.
St. Thomas trailed 29-22 late in the first half, but five different players scored during a 14-0 run over the final 3:30 before halftime to produce a 36-29 lead at the break. The Toms made 20-of-23 free throws in the second half to hold off WIU's comeback bid.
Record-Breaking Crowd
St. Thomas Men's Basketball welcomed Oral Roberts and its perfect 12-0 Summit League record into Schoenecker Arena on Feb. 9. 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.
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.
About North Dakota State
North Dakota State welcomes the Tommies to Scheels Center carrying a 12-16 overall record this season and are currently looking to bounce back from a loss on the road to Oral Roberts (L,74-66).
• Junior forward Grant Nelson is currently fifth in the Summit League in scoring averaging 17.6 points per game and leading the league in rebounds averaging 9.0 rebounds per game. Fellow junior guard Boden Skunberg and sophomore forward Andrew Morgan, average 14.3 and 10.6 points per game, respectively.
• The Bison started the new year with a scorching five game winning streak against fellow Summit League competition, including wins over North Dakota, South Dakota State, and South Dakota.
• Last time out, NDSU lost to conference leading Oral Roberts in a 74-66 contest, as the Bison nearly overcame a 19-point deficit and only trailed by four with 1:30 to play before ORU made nine free throws in the final minute.
•North Dakota currently sits tied for third in the Summit League standings after starting the month of February with a near .500 4-3 record in conference play.
• NDSU ranks 3rd in the conference in Rebounds Per Game with an average of 36.4 rebounds per contest. They are also fourth in the conference in blocked shot tallying up 85 blocks as a team on the year.
•Grant Nelson holds the fifth and seventh spot for most points scored in a game this season in the Summit League, scoring 36 and 35 points combining for 27 made field goals and dropping in 15-of-22 free throw attempts in the two contests
• In the regular season, the Bison are averaging 73.0 points per game while allowing 72.9 points per game to opposing teams, putting them at a +0.1 scoring margin ranking fifth in the Summit League.
•Grant Nelson ranks 1st on the team in five different categories for the Bison, including points (17.6), rebounds (9.0), assists (2.1), steals (0.9), and blocks (1.7).
• Head coach David Richman is currently in his ninth year as the head men's basketball coach at North Dakota State University joining the team back in 2015. In his first seven seasons as a head coach, Richman has led the Bison to three NCAA Tournament berths and five Summit League Tournament championship games. He is the second-fastest coach in NDSU history to reach 100 wins and carried the school to their second Division 1 tournament win in school history during March Madness.
Findings on the Fighting Hawks
North Dakota host the Tommies at Betty Engelstad Sioux Center this Saturday carrying a 5-11 Summit League record this season and are currently looking to continue success following a road win Saturday against Kansas City (W,81-73).
• Saturday marks the fourth all-time meeting between the Fighting Hawks and the Tommies, with UST leading the series 2-1.
• Freshman forward B.J. Omot is currently leading the Fighting Hawks in scoring averaging 11.7 points per game. Fellow junior guard and forward Matt Norman and Tsotne Tsartsidze, average 11.2 and 10.4 points per game, respectively.
• The Fighting Hawks started February hot, winning four out of five games with against fellow Summit League competition, including wins over South Dakota, Denver, and an OT thriller against Omaha.
• Last time out, UND beat Kansas City in a 81-73 contest behind a combined 39 points from Brady Danielson and B.J. Omot who shot an outstanding 24-27 from the free-throw line.
• North Dakota ranks 4th in the conference in three-point percentage shooting at a 35.0% clip from beyond the arc. They are also second in the conference in three-point field goals made sitting at 267 threes on the year, averaging 9.2 per game.
•Junior forward Tsotne Tsartsidze leads the team in rebounds averaging 5.3 rebounds per game and has nine games over 8+ rebounds on the year including a 12-rebound performance on Jan. 12 vs Omaha.
• Sharing the ball hasn't been an issue for junior guard Jalun Trent this season either. Overall, he's averaging 2.5 assists per game which ranks him first on the Fighting Hawks.
• Head coach Paul Sather joined the team on May 30, 2019, and carries with him 24 years of coaching experience. Before leading the helm of the Fighting Hawks, Sather won back-to-back conference coach of the year at Northern State and led the Wolves to the NCAA Division 2 championship game. He is entering his fourth season at the helm for North Dakota.
Summit League Basketball Tournament
The 2023 Summit League Men's Basketball Championship takes place March 3-7 at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. The tournament champions will receive automatic berths to the NCAA Division I Basketball Championship.
For the 14th-consecutive year, the men will culminate their seasons in Sioux Falls, S.D., as the 2023 Basketball Championships return to the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, March 3-7. This time, the event will be expanded an extra day and include all 10 teams. The complete championship bracket can be found here.
All-session tickets for the 2023 Men's Championships will be on sale at Ticketmaster.com and in-person at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center box office.
Rank Category Stat
Team
2nd Free Throw Percentage 79.2 percent
2nd Assist to Turnover Ratio 1.29 assist/turnover ratio
2nd Scoring Margin +5.0 points per game
2nd Turnover Margin 1.83
2nd Scoring Offense 75.1 points per game
3rd 3-point FG Percentage 36.0 percent
3rd Assists 3.0 per game
2nd Scoring Defense 70.0 points allowed per game
4th Steals 5.76 per game
3rd 3-point FGs Made 9.0 per game (260 total)
3rd Team FG Percentage 45.6 percent
Individual
2nd 3-point FG Percentage R. Miller, 41.6 percent
3rd Free Throw Percentage R. Miller, 89.2 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, 51.3 percent
4th Field Goal Percentage A. Rohde, 44.6 percent
4th Assists Per Game A. Rohde, 3.8 assists per game
7th Scoring A. Rohde, 16.2 points per game
7th Steals B. Allen, 1.2 steals per game
10th Minutes A. Rohde, 32.4 minutes per game
10th Blocked Shots A. Lee, 0.8 blocks per game
Above .500
The Tommies have shot above 50 percent from the field in 10 of their 18 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. 20. These stats and rankings include totals from all 29 of the Tommies 2022-23 season.
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.
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 867 of his 1,354 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 289 made in his 123-game career, 8 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 27 games played this season and leads the team scoring 16.2 points per game, which ranks first among all Summit League freshmen and seventh overall. He has a team-high 153 field goals made and 3.8 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 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 25 against Oral Roberts on Feb. 9. In the most recent Tommie game versus Western Illinois, Rohde dropped a career high of 26 points on 8-for-17 shooting and 8-for-8 from the free throw line.
Kendall Blue ranks fifth on the team with 7.7 points per game on 43.1 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 28 games this season, his first on Nov. 13 versus St. Francis Brooklyn. He set career highs of 14 points against Western Illinois and also recorded 11 rebounds on Feb.18. Lee leads the team with 21 blocks on the season, ranks sixth on the team with 5.5 points per game and second in rebounding, averaging 4.4 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.
Follow Along
For more information on St. Thomas Men's Basketball, follow along on Twitter at @TommieMBBall and on Instagram at @TommieHoops
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/ 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
