University of St. Thomas Athletics
Thursday, February 29
St. Paul, Minn.
7:00 p.m. Central
18-12,8-7Summit League
88
vs
61
Omaha
14-17,7-9Summit League
1
2
F
Omaha
20
41
61
St. Thomas (MN)
45
43
88
Team Stats
UNO
UST
FG%
.390
.508
3FG%
.238
.500
FT%
.769
.810
RB
32
38
TO
10
8
STL
7
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Abby Bondi
First half defense, Blue double-double power Tommies to 88-61 win
2/29/2024 11:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball
St. Thomas limits Omaha to 27 percent shooting ahead of 45-20 halftime lead
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A strong shooting performance propelled St. Thomas men's basketball to an 88-61 victory over the Omaha Mavericks on Thursday evening. The Tommies move to 18-12 on the season and 8-7 in conference play with one game remaining in the 2023-2024 basketball season.
Sophomore Kendall Blue recorded his first career double-double behind 13 points and 11 rebounds on 5-of-8 shooting in the victory. Blue is the first Tommie besides Parker Bjorklund to record a double-double since Feb. 18, 2023, when sophomore Ahjany Lee tallied 14 points and 11 rebounds against Western Illinois.
Graduate students Raheem Anthony and Parker Bjorklund led the scoring efforts for the Tommies with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Bjorklund also recorded eight rebounds, two assists, and went a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Anthony had five rebounds in addition to six assists along with three steals.
St. Thomas shot 50.8 percent from the field (30-of-59), 50 percent from beyond the arc (11-of-22) and 81 percent from the charity stripe (17-of-21). The Omaha Mavericks shot 39 percent from the floor (23-of-59) and were held to 33.3 percent from the 3-point line (4-of-12) while Frankie Fidler, UNO's leading scorer on the season, was held to just 10 points on 5-of-13 shooting, including 0-of-4 from three-point land.
RECAP
From the tip St. Thomas started off red hot from the floor, going on their largest scoring run of the game, 12-0, over the first four minutes of the contest. The Tommies and Mavericks traded baskets over the next eight minutes as the Purple led 24-12 with 8:03 remaining in the half. A 3-pointer by junior Ben Nau and a jumper by Anthony gave the Toms a 17-point advantage, 29-12 with 7:02 left in the half.
St. Thomas ended the half on a 5-0 run following a classic and-one from junior Ryan Dufault and found themselves ahead 45-20 heading into the break.
A layup by Bjorklund, a 3-pointer by Anthony, and three free throws by Bjorklund gave the Toms a 10-0 run leading 69-38 with 10:03 remaining. A 3-pointer by redshirt freshman Carter Bjerke gave the Purple their largest lead of the day of 36 points, 84-48, with 4:24 until the final buzzer sounded.
TOP TOMMIES
· Sophomore Kendall Blue recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and a career high 11 rebounds on 5-of-8 shooting. Blue is the first Tommie besides Parker Bjorklund to record a double-double since Feb. 18, 2023, when sophomore Ahjany Lee tallied 14 points and 11 rebounds against Western Illinois.
· Graduate students Raheem Anthony and Parker Bjorklund led the scoring efforts for the Tommies in the victory with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Bjorklund also recorded eight rebounds, two assists, and went a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Anthony had five rebounds in addition to six assists along with three steals in an all-around performance.
· Redshirt freshman Carter Bjerke led the scoring efforts off the bench recording 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and 2-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc in Thursday's victory. The bench as a whole finished with 30 points compared to 10 for the Mavericks.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Johnny Tauer following Thursday evenings victory over the Omaha Mavericks:
"Thrilled to get a win tonight against a talented, tough opponent in Omaha. Defensively our connectedness was one of its best performances. It was a collected effort tonight, switching matchups, giving different looks and I loved our effort and trust to make them take tough shots.
"I thought our bench took the energy our starters led us off with, and I thought all of the guys bought into the gameplan, and you can see how hard our guys work for one another. Grateful to the crowd, love the way our guys competed and defended with a purpose on country theme night. It was great to see the arena packed 25 minutes before tip-off with the students and it was a special night."
UP NEXT
The Tommies finish up Summit League play at Schoenecker Arena as they host the Denver Pioneers (15-14, 6-8 Summit League) on Saturday Mar. 2, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT in the final regular season game of the 2023-2024 season. St. Thomas is currently behind 2-3 in the all-time series against the Pioneers with the Toms losing the last matchup on Feb. 10, 2024, 77-94 at Denver.
SEEDING SCENARIOS
St. Thomas can finish as high as the number two seed for the Summit League Championships with a win, a North Dakota loss to South Dakota, a Kansas City loss to Oral Roberts AND a North Dakota State loss to South Dakota State (St. Thomas would hold a tiebreaker over Kansas City and North Dakota with a better collective record against those teams tied for second).
St. Thomas would finish with the number three seed with a win, a North Dakota loss, Kansas City loss AND a North Dakota State win, OR a St. Thomas win, North Dakota loss, Kansas City win AND a North Dakota State loss, OR a St. Thomas win, North Dakota win, Kansas City loss AND a North Dakota State loss.
St. Thomas would finish with the number four seed with a win, a North Dakota win, a Kansas City loss AND a North Dakota State win, OR a St. Thomas win, a Kansas City win, a North Dakota loss AND a North Dakota State win, OR a St. Thomas win, a North Dakota win, a Kansas City win AND a North Dakota State loss.
St. Thomas would finish with the number five seed with a win and wins by all North Dakota, Kansas City and North Dakota State, OR a St. Thomas loss.
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
To reserve your seat to be a part of the Tommies' 2023-24 season, click HERE to view ticketing information and purchase options.
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
Sophomore Kendall Blue recorded his first career double-double behind 13 points and 11 rebounds on 5-of-8 shooting in the victory. Blue is the first Tommie besides Parker Bjorklund to record a double-double since Feb. 18, 2023, when sophomore Ahjany Lee tallied 14 points and 11 rebounds against Western Illinois.
Graduate students Raheem Anthony and Parker Bjorklund led the scoring efforts for the Tommies with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Bjorklund also recorded eight rebounds, two assists, and went a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Anthony had five rebounds in addition to six assists along with three steals.
St. Thomas shot 50.8 percent from the field (30-of-59), 50 percent from beyond the arc (11-of-22) and 81 percent from the charity stripe (17-of-21). The Omaha Mavericks shot 39 percent from the floor (23-of-59) and were held to 33.3 percent from the 3-point line (4-of-12) while Frankie Fidler, UNO's leading scorer on the season, was held to just 10 points on 5-of-13 shooting, including 0-of-4 from three-point land.
RECAP
From the tip St. Thomas started off red hot from the floor, going on their largest scoring run of the game, 12-0, over the first four minutes of the contest. The Tommies and Mavericks traded baskets over the next eight minutes as the Purple led 24-12 with 8:03 remaining in the half. A 3-pointer by junior Ben Nau and a jumper by Anthony gave the Toms a 17-point advantage, 29-12 with 7:02 left in the half.
St. Thomas ended the half on a 5-0 run following a classic and-one from junior Ryan Dufault and found themselves ahead 45-20 heading into the break.
A layup by Bjorklund, a 3-pointer by Anthony, and three free throws by Bjorklund gave the Toms a 10-0 run leading 69-38 with 10:03 remaining. A 3-pointer by redshirt freshman Carter Bjerke gave the Purple their largest lead of the day of 36 points, 84-48, with 4:24 until the final buzzer sounded.
TOP TOMMIES
· Sophomore Kendall Blue recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and a career high 11 rebounds on 5-of-8 shooting. Blue is the first Tommie besides Parker Bjorklund to record a double-double since Feb. 18, 2023, when sophomore Ahjany Lee tallied 14 points and 11 rebounds against Western Illinois.
· Graduate students Raheem Anthony and Parker Bjorklund led the scoring efforts for the Tommies in the victory with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Bjorklund also recorded eight rebounds, two assists, and went a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Anthony had five rebounds in addition to six assists along with three steals in an all-around performance.
· Redshirt freshman Carter Bjerke led the scoring efforts off the bench recording 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and 2-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc in Thursday's victory. The bench as a whole finished with 30 points compared to 10 for the Mavericks.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Johnny Tauer following Thursday evenings victory over the Omaha Mavericks:
"Thrilled to get a win tonight against a talented, tough opponent in Omaha. Defensively our connectedness was one of its best performances. It was a collected effort tonight, switching matchups, giving different looks and I loved our effort and trust to make them take tough shots.
"I thought our bench took the energy our starters led us off with, and I thought all of the guys bought into the gameplan, and you can see how hard our guys work for one another. Grateful to the crowd, love the way our guys competed and defended with a purpose on country theme night. It was great to see the arena packed 25 minutes before tip-off with the students and it was a special night."
UP NEXT
The Tommies finish up Summit League play at Schoenecker Arena as they host the Denver Pioneers (15-14, 6-8 Summit League) on Saturday Mar. 2, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT in the final regular season game of the 2023-2024 season. St. Thomas is currently behind 2-3 in the all-time series against the Pioneers with the Toms losing the last matchup on Feb. 10, 2024, 77-94 at Denver.
SEEDING SCENARIOS
St. Thomas can finish as high as the number two seed for the Summit League Championships with a win, a North Dakota loss to South Dakota, a Kansas City loss to Oral Roberts AND a North Dakota State loss to South Dakota State (St. Thomas would hold a tiebreaker over Kansas City and North Dakota with a better collective record against those teams tied for second).
St. Thomas would finish with the number three seed with a win, a North Dakota loss, Kansas City loss AND a North Dakota State win, OR a St. Thomas win, North Dakota loss, Kansas City win AND a North Dakota State loss, OR a St. Thomas win, North Dakota win, Kansas City loss AND a North Dakota State loss.
St. Thomas would finish with the number four seed with a win, a North Dakota win, a Kansas City loss AND a North Dakota State win, OR a St. Thomas win, a Kansas City win, a North Dakota loss AND a North Dakota State win, OR a St. Thomas win, a North Dakota win, a Kansas City win AND a North Dakota State loss.
St. Thomas would finish with the number five seed with a win and wins by all North Dakota, Kansas City and North Dakota State, OR a St. Thomas loss.
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
To reserve your seat to be a part of the Tommies' 2023-24 season, click HERE to view ticketing information and purchase options.
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
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