Men’s Basketball rally falls short in 69-65 loss to Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- St. Thomas men's basketball overcame a sluggish start Sunday afternoon to nearly overtake Milwaukee, but ultimately fell to the hosts of the Cream City Challenge 69-65. Graduate student Drake Dobbs led the Tommies (4-4) with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists as the Panthers improve to 5-2 overall.

Dobbs' season high 16 points came on 6-of-10 shooting as he added 5 rebounds and 5 assists, his first career game with at least 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. He played over 31 minutes in the game, second to Kendall Blue's 32 minutes as Blue finished with 11 points and five rebounds.

After opening the first half shooting 30.8 percent from the field, the Tommies finished the game 39.6 percent overall (21-53) and 28.6 percent on 3-pointers (8-28), tied for their lowest 3-point field goal output of the season. Milwaukee shot a consistent 46 percent in both halves and won the rebound margin, 40-25, despite St. Thomas trailing that margin by just one over the final 20 minutes.

GAME RECAP
The opening seven minutes consisted of five lead changes as Dobbs began Tommie scoring with back-to-back two-point baskets, including contact and a foul on the second bucket for an and-one score and a 5-4 lead. Three Tommies scored over the next two-plus minutes, capped by Ryan Lafferty's lone field goal on a 3-pointer to break a tie, 12-10.

St. Thomas went on a scoring drought over the next six minutes as it missed eight straight field goals with four turnovers given away, allowing Milwaukee to score eight straight points for an 18-12 lead. Dobbs drove in for a layup following a MKE turnover to stop the skid while a 3-pointer from Carter Bjerke and a free throw from Ben Oosterbaan brought the deficit to 20-18. The Panthers closed the final six minutes of the half on a 12-4 run for their first double digit lead, 32-22.

Dobbs again converted an and-one opportunity to open the half while a pair of dunks by Blue paired with 3-pointers by Bjerke and Oosterbaan tied the game at 39-39. MKE answered with its own 3-pointer but two technical fouls by the Panthers allowed the Tommies to make three free throws and tie the game again.

Dufault sank two free throws off a shooting foul to give St. Thomas its last lead of the day, 44-42, as Milwaukee immediately answered to tie the game again. The Tommies missed a second-chance putback opportunity that allowed the Panthers to score quickly on a driving layup, just before a St. Thomas turnover led to a 3-pointer to cap a 7-0 Milwaukee run and 49-44 lead.

The MKE lead grew to as many as 10 again with just over four minutes in the game to set up the Tommies' final comeback opportunity. Dobbs drained a fast break 3-pointer and a driving layup off an MKE turnover to spark an 11-2 run to climb back within one point.

As part of the run, Miles Barnstable made his final basket of the game, a 3-pointer to give him 10 points, before the Panthers gave the ball away on a turnover then missed the front end of a 1-and-1 free throw. Milwaukee's eighth of nine missed free throws allowed Ben Nau to make his first 3-pointer and cut the lead to one, 66-65, with 17 seconds to play.

The Tommies fouled to put the Panthers back at the line for a 1-and-1, which were both converted to push the lead back to three, 68-65, with 10 seconds remaining. Dobbs brought the ball downcourt and drew contact that forced a turnover and a free throw to seal the MKE win.

TOMMIE TIDBITS

St. Thomas is averaging 73 points per game through its first four road games of this season, compared to 61 points per game on the road through the first four true road games last season. The Tommies averaged 68.6 points per game overall on the road in 2023-24.
The Purple have held their opponents to 10 or fewer 3-pointers in every game and to six or fewer in four.
St. Thomas has fewer free throw attempts than its opponents in five games this season, including five of the last six.
The Tommies' 22 first half points set a new season low, one fewer than the 23 scored in the first half at Oklahoma State. The Purple also set season lows in points, field goals, 3-point field goals, rebounds and assists.
Drake Dobbs was two points shy of tying his career high of 18 done twice last season. Sunday was his first career game with at least 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, also leading the team in scoring for the first time this season.
Kendall Blue recorded his sixth double-digit scoring game this season with 11 on Sunday. He tied Dobbs for the team lead with five rebounds, marking the third time leading the team in boards.
Miles Barnstable scored 10 points on three field goals, including one 3-pointer, and three free throws. He's reached at least 10 points in seven of eight games this season.
Ryan Dufault led the Tommies and tied a career high with five steals, set previously on Nov. 29, 2022 against North Central.

QUOTABLES
Head Coach Johnny Tauer on main takeaways from Sunday's Cream City Challenge finale:
"I'm really, really proud of our guys. I thought they competed incredibly hard facing three games in three days. Milwaukee was picked to win the Horizon for a reason. They're just so talented, tough, and well coached. We got down 10 in the first half and put them at the line too much. We can't dig that kind of hole if we're going to be successful but we battled back against a pressure defense…I thought we did a much better job in the second half of getting paint touches, 22 points in the first half and 43 the second, and we didn't shoot it great. The second half we played with a toughness and a poise, though. Drake Dobbs, look at what he did, not just offensively 16 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, but the defense he plays is really inspiring.

"I love the leadership I'm seeing from our guys. I never like to lose, but I like the way they battled in a tough environment where you're on the road and you're going to have to be really good to beat a team like this and I thought they gave everything they had."

UP NEXT
St. Thomas takes an extended break from games, returning to action Monday, Dec. 2 with a home contest against Chicago State. The Tommies and Cougars will play for the four consecutive season as the Purple hold the 2-1 all-time lead. St. Thomas follows two days later with the beginning of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge at Northern Colorado on Dec. 4 and at home against Montana on Dec. 7.

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

JOIN US
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-- St. Thomas Athletics --

Men’s Basketball rally falls short in 69-65 loss to Milwaukee

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Team Stats

Drake Dobbs

Kendall Blue

Miles Barnstable

Carter Bjerke

Players Mentioned

Miles Barnstable

Carter Bjerke

Kendall Blue

Drake Dobbs

Ryan Dufault

Ryan Lafferty

Ben Nau

Ben Oosterbaan

University of St. Thomas Athletics