Tommies control Cougars in 98-76 win Monday

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- St. Thomas men's basketball jumped ahead quickly and never looked back during a 98-76 win Monday night over Chicago State in Schoenecker Arena on Monday night. Ben Nau and Ben Oosterbaan scored 13 points each to lead the Tommies, who improve to 5-4 overall, while the bench totaled 55 points against the Cougars.

The St. Thomas starters combined to shoot 63.7 percent from the floor and 75.0 percent from 3-point range as Kendall Blue led all Tommie starters with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Nau put in 2-of-4 field goals and 7-of-7 from the free throw line in 16 minutes while Oosterbaan played 20 minutes and shot 3-of-4 overall and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe.

GAME RECAP
Five different Tommies scored over the opening six-plus minutes as part of a 16-0 run, answering a game-opening basket by the Cougars. St. Thomas made 6-of-10 shots during the game-separating stretch while Chicago State missed 11 straight field goal attempts.

The Purple lead drew to 10 at the under 10-minute mark before shooting over 50 percent to close the first half, taking a first-half high lead of 26 points, 47-21 just before halftime. Kendall Blue scored all 11 of his points in the first half on 4-of-5 shooting to go along with five rebounds.

The Tommies' hot shooting continued into the second half while extending their lead to a game-high 33, 82-49, with 8:44 to play. Ben Nau scored 11 of his 13 total points over the first 12 minutes of action in the second half, his final of the night on two free throws for the 33-point advantage.

TOMMIE TIDBITS

The Tommies attempted and made their most free throws since going 32-37 from the line against Elmhurst on March 5, 2016.
St. Thomas has scored at least 90 points in all five wins this season.
Nolan Minessale led the Tommies and tied a career high with seven rebounds.
Ben Oosterbaan finished with 13 points on 3-of-4 shooting overall along with four rebounds, including two offensive. He's shooting 63.7 percent overall in three games with at least 10 points this season.
Ben Nau has scored in double figures in two of the last three games, shooting 62.5 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from 3-point range.
Ryan Lafferty finished with a career high 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting, including 1-of-2 from long range, and 4-of-5 from the free throw line. He tied Minessale for a team-best four assists and led all Tommies with 23 minutes played.

UP NEXT
St. Thomas makes a quick turnaround to face Northern Colorado on Wednesday, Dec. 4 to start the Big Sky-Summit Challenge. The Tommies play the Bears in Greeley, Colo., with a 7 p.m. CT tipoff before returning home to close the challenge on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. against Montana.

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Team Stats

Ben Nau

Ben Oosterbaan

Ryan Lafferty

Kendall Blue

Players Mentioned

Kendall Blue

Ryan Lafferty

Nolan Minessale

Ben Nau

Ben Oosterbaan

University of St. Thomas Athletics