Jackrabbits down Tommies, 81-80, on last-second basket

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A last second basket by the Summit League preseason favorites handed St. Thomas men's basketball its first home loss fo the season, an 81-80 defeat to South Dakota State University in Schoenecker Arena.

Graduate student Raheem Anthony led the Tommies with 21 points, going 5-of-9 and from field goal range and two 3-pointers. Anthony had a season high 3-pointers and free throws made.

The Tommies shot 43.9 percent, going 25-of-57 with 13-of-39 from 3-point range. St. Thomas forced 15 total turnovers for the Jackrabbits, with them averaging only 12 prior to the game.

RECAP
Graduate Students Brooks Allen and Parker Bjorklund, as well as senior Drake Dobbs, each sank a three to give the Toms an early lead, 9-7. Sophomore Kendall Blue kept the scoring going with five points in a row before SDSU was able to take the lead and keep it until two more 3-pointers by Allen tied the game with five minutes left in the first half. A pair of free throws and a 3-pointer from Dobbs gave St. Thomas a 30-27 lead before a 12-0 run by SDSU heading into halftime.

The Tommies began the second half on a 11-3 scoring run to close the gap to one. The Jackrabbits held off the Toms until Anthony hit a 3-pointer and Blue put in a floater to tie the game, 51-51, with 11:49 to play. St. Thomas responded to back-to-back 3-pointers with an 11-0 run, forcing three turnovers and two missed field goals by SDSU over a three-minute span, to take a 62-57 lead. The Tommies extended the lead to eight, 75-67, with 3:54 to play. South Dakota State finished the game 5-of-5 from the field, including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc, while limiting St. Thomas to 2-of-7 over the same stretch.

TOP TOMMIES

Graduate Student Raheem Anthony led the team with 21 points, his second 20+ scoring game this season, along with four rebounds, three assists and one block. He shot 5-of-9 from the floor and 2-of-4 from long range.
Senior Drake Dobbs had a career high 18 points on the night, going 6-of-11 overall with four 3-pointers, with two assists and no turnovers.
Sophomore Kendall Blue finished with 17 points, his fifth straight game in double figures and the longest for a Tommie this season, going 6-of-12 from the field.
Graduate student Brooks Allen was all over the court with 11 points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block.

QUOTABLES
Head Coach Johnny Tauer following the first home loss of the season:
"I loved how our guys competed against a really talented team. We were down nine at half and we got up eight late in the second. I love how our guys shared the ball. (Zeke Mayo) who's really, really talented, he put his head down and went to the basket and he got to the foul line a lot. Credit to them. They're a perennial power. They're picked to win the conference and I thought our guys competed really hard with class."

UP NEXT
The Tommies are on the road this Saturday, Jan. 13th facing Oral Roberts in Tulsa, Okla., at 7 p.m. The two teams will face off for the seventh time in history, as the Tommies look for their first win against the Golden Eagles. Oral Roberts is currently 2-1 in conference and 8-8 overall.

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Team Stats

Raheem Anthony

Drake Dobbs

Kendall Blue

Brooks Allen

Players Mentioned

Brooks Allen

Raheem Anthony

Parker Bjorklund

Kendall Blue

Drake Dobbs