University of St. Thomas Athletics
Thursday, February 9
St. Paul, Minn.
7:00 p.m. Central
16-11,7-7Summit League
88
vs
95
Oral Roberts
22-4,13-0Summit League
1
2
F
Oral Roberts
45
50
95
St. Thomas (MN)
41
47
88
Team Stats
ORU
UST
FG%
.569
.500
3FG%
.357
.410
FT%
.792
.750
RB
32
26
TO
6
7
STL
5
1
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
10
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
23
FGM
6
3FGM
6
FTM
5
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Wesley Dean
Men’s Basketball within three with 31 seconds to play, falls to league-leading Oral Roberts
2/9/2023 9:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball
St. Paul, Minn. – 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 crown 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.
Second-Half Surge
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 an old-fashioned 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.
St. Thomas returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Kansas City. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
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.
Second-Half Surge
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 an old-fashioned 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.
St. Thomas returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Kansas City. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
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