Complete game lifts Tommies to 91-65 win over Vikings

MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- Senior guard Ben Nau's career high 18 points showcased St. Thomas men's basketball's complete win, 91-65, over Portland State on Saturday afternoon to even its record at the Cream City Challenge. The Tommies, who improve to 4-3 overall, led by 32 points at halftime and won the scoring battles in the paint and from beyond the arc.

Nau shot 7-of-10 overall and 4-of-7 from 3-point range, including 12 points in the first half, to lead all scorers. Miles Barnstable and Kendall Blue each scored 11 points while 10 Tommies scored at least five points. Blue and Ben Oosterbaan led the team with five rebounds while Ryan Dufault dished out six assists.

St. Thomas shot 54.5 percent overall (36-66), its third highest shooting performance of the season, and 46.2 percent from long range (12-26), its second highest percentage this season. The Tommies held the Vikings to season lows of 32.2 percent shooting overall (19-59) and 16.0 percent on 3-pointers (4-25), including 23.3 percent overall and 1.7 percent on threes in the first half. The Purple outscored PSU in the paint, 48-28, and finished with 50 points off the bench.

GAME RECAP
The game's only lead changes came over the first two minutes of play as the Vikings held an early advantage on a second-chance layup. Blue and Barnstable put in back-to-back layups for the first lead change before two free throws from Barnstable gave the Toms their final lead of the day.

The Purple forced the Vikings to miss five of its next six shots and forced three turnovers to lead 15-7 on a 3-pointer from Rich Byhre. St. Thomas made four straight shots following Byhre's first of two 3-pointers to extend the lead to double digits for the first time with 11:52 in the first half. Nau sank back-to-back 3-pointers for a 22-point lead, 37-15, while Dufault drove down the entirety of the court in the final seconds of the first half to convert an and-one opportunity for a 53-21 lead.

St. Thomas' lead never dipped below 25 in the second half behind 48.6 percent shooting. Ryan Lafferty, who led all Tommies with 21 minutes played, scored six of his eight points and Nau sank two 3-pointers over the final 20 minutes.

TOMMIE TIDBITS

St. Thomas allowed its fewest points in a first half since holding Green Bay to 19 points on the road (11/25/23) and scored its most points in a first half since putting up 54 at Green Bay (11/8/24) this season.
The Tommies attempted their second lowest free throws this season (7-8) and fourth lowest over the past two seasons.
The Purple improved to 8-4 during neutral site games during the Division I era and are now 4-0 this season when recording a higher field goal percentage than its opponent. The Tommies have also scored at least 90 points in all four wins this season.
Ben Nau topped his previous high of 17 points scored last season at Chicago State (12/10/23) on 6-of-8 shooting and 5-of-7 from long range. It's just the second time in his career Nau has led the team in scoring.
Miles Barnstable has scored double digit points in six games this season while Kendall Blue has done so in five games.

UP NEXT
St. Thomas closes the Cream City Challenge Sunday at 1:30 p.m. against Milwaukee.

FOLLOW ALONG
For more information on St. Thomas Men's Basketball, follow along on X (formerly Twitter) at @TommieMBBall and on Instagram at @TommieHoops

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-- St. Thomas Athletics --

Complete game lifts Tommies to 91-65 win over Vikings

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Team Stats

Ben Nau

Kendall Blue

Miles Barnstable

Ryan Lafferty

Players Mentioned

Miles Barnstable

Kendall Blue

Rich Byhre

Ryan Dufault

Ryan Lafferty

Ben Nau

Ben Oosterbaan

University of St. Thomas Athletics