University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, February 3
Kansas City, Mo. / Swinney Center
7:00 p.m. Central
15-9,5-4Summit League
71
at
56
Kansas City
10-14,4-5Summit League
1
2
F
St. Thomas (MN)
34
37
71
Kansas City
29
27
56
Team Stats
UST
KC
FG%
.591
.422
3FG%
.476
.370
FT%
.600
.667
RB
24
18
TO
12
15
STL
10
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Collin Boyles
Strong night overall lifts Tommies to 71-56 win over Roos
2/3/2024 9:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Blue, Dufault score 16 points each as St. Thomas shot 59.1 percent overall
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- St. Thomas men's basketball got back in the win column behind strong shooting Saturday night, earning a 71-56 win at Kansas City. Junior Ryan Dufault came off the bench to tie with sophomore Kendall Blue for a game-high 16 points as the Tommies improve to 15-9 overall and 5-4 in Summit League play.
The Purple shot over 50 percent from the field for the 12th time this season, winning nine of those games, and shot over 60 percent in the second half alone. St. Thomas outrebounded Kansas City, 24-18, and went on a 17-2 run midway through the second half.
Blue's 16 points is his second highest output during the conference schedule as he shot 6-of-9 overall and 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Dufault scored 16 points in 18 minutes of action on 7-of-8 shooting.
RECAP
The Roos jumped out to an early 7-2 lead before hustle from Blue, getting his second steal over the first three minutes, set up a layup from grad student Parker Bjorklund. The points in the paint started a 6-0 run for the Tommies to nab an 8-7 lead. Including the go-ahead basket from grad student Raheem Anthony, the game saw five lead changes over the next three minutes.
Senior Drake Dobbs pulled up from the arc for his first of two 3-pointers in the game to spark an 11-0 run over the next 5:24. St. Thomas went 3-of-4 from the field and held UMKC to 0-of-5 shooting, including 0-of-2 from long range, to take a 23-13 lead just under the midway mark of the first half. The Roos cut the Toms' lead in half by the end of the first half, partially on a last second 3-pointer, for a 34-29 advantage at halftime.
St. Thomas missed its first three field goals of the second half, and gave away one turnover, to allow UMKC to go on a 7-1 run and get its first lead since midway through the opening half. Blue scored five straight points for the Toms to regain the lead for the rest of the game.
Anthony and Dufault combined for 11 points during a 17-2 run for St. Thomas over a nearly seven-minute stretch to extend the lead to 17, 57-40, with 8:01 to play. The Tommies went 7-of-9 from the field and 1-of-2 from 3-point range while limiting Kansas City to 1-of-7 shooting, including 0-of-5 from long range, during that stretch. The Tommies extended the lead to a game-high 18 points, 65-47, with 3:44 to play on Dufault's final basket.
TOP TOMMIES
- Sophomore Kendall Blue tied for the game high with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting overall and 4-of-6 from 3-point range. It is his 12th double-digit scoring game of the season while he's now shot at least 50 percent from the field in 17 of the last 29 games. Blue added six rebounds, leading the team in rebounds for the fifth time this season, and a career high four steals.
- Junior Ryan Dufault tied with Blue with 16 points, topping his previous conference high by five points, after playing 18 minutes off the bench. He's now shot 69.4 percent from the field over the past 12 games. Dufault is the ninth Tommie to lead the team in single game scoring this season.
- Grad student Raheem Anthony finished with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting with two rebounds, two assists and one steal.
QUOTEABLES
Head Coach Johnny Tauer on coming back from an 11-point deficit to lead during Thursday's loss:
"I'm really proud. This team has a lot of courage. We've had a lot of battles throughout the course of the year. Consistently, their response has been superb.
"The outcome often drives things and we try not to let that happen and really focus on the process. Our guys really responded and, in many ways, replicated a defensive performance against an outstanding Kansas City team. I actually kind of feel like this may have been our best game all year just in terms of our toughness, our togetherness, sticking to the game plan and believing in one another."
UP NEXT
St. Thomas will play one home and one road game next week, leading off with the season series finale Thursday, Feb. 8 against Oral Roberts presented by Wings Credit Union. The Toms then travel Saturday, Feb. 10 at Denver for its first of two meetings before the end of the regular season.
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 --
The Purple shot over 50 percent from the field for the 12th time this season, winning nine of those games, and shot over 60 percent in the second half alone. St. Thomas outrebounded Kansas City, 24-18, and went on a 17-2 run midway through the second half.
Blue's 16 points is his second highest output during the conference schedule as he shot 6-of-9 overall and 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Dufault scored 16 points in 18 minutes of action on 7-of-8 shooting.
RECAP
The Roos jumped out to an early 7-2 lead before hustle from Blue, getting his second steal over the first three minutes, set up a layup from grad student Parker Bjorklund. The points in the paint started a 6-0 run for the Tommies to nab an 8-7 lead. Including the go-ahead basket from grad student Raheem Anthony, the game saw five lead changes over the next three minutes.
Senior Drake Dobbs pulled up from the arc for his first of two 3-pointers in the game to spark an 11-0 run over the next 5:24. St. Thomas went 3-of-4 from the field and held UMKC to 0-of-5 shooting, including 0-of-2 from long range, to take a 23-13 lead just under the midway mark of the first half. The Roos cut the Toms' lead in half by the end of the first half, partially on a last second 3-pointer, for a 34-29 advantage at halftime.
St. Thomas missed its first three field goals of the second half, and gave away one turnover, to allow UMKC to go on a 7-1 run and get its first lead since midway through the opening half. Blue scored five straight points for the Toms to regain the lead for the rest of the game.
Anthony and Dufault combined for 11 points during a 17-2 run for St. Thomas over a nearly seven-minute stretch to extend the lead to 17, 57-40, with 8:01 to play. The Tommies went 7-of-9 from the field and 1-of-2 from 3-point range while limiting Kansas City to 1-of-7 shooting, including 0-of-5 from long range, during that stretch. The Tommies extended the lead to a game-high 18 points, 65-47, with 3:44 to play on Dufault's final basket.
TOP TOMMIES
- Sophomore Kendall Blue tied for the game high with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting overall and 4-of-6 from 3-point range. It is his 12th double-digit scoring game of the season while he's now shot at least 50 percent from the field in 17 of the last 29 games. Blue added six rebounds, leading the team in rebounds for the fifth time this season, and a career high four steals.
- Junior Ryan Dufault tied with Blue with 16 points, topping his previous conference high by five points, after playing 18 minutes off the bench. He's now shot 69.4 percent from the field over the past 12 games. Dufault is the ninth Tommie to lead the team in single game scoring this season.
- Grad student Raheem Anthony finished with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting with two rebounds, two assists and one steal.
QUOTEABLES
Head Coach Johnny Tauer on coming back from an 11-point deficit to lead during Thursday's loss:
"I'm really proud. This team has a lot of courage. We've had a lot of battles throughout the course of the year. Consistently, their response has been superb.
"The outcome often drives things and we try not to let that happen and really focus on the process. Our guys really responded and, in many ways, replicated a defensive performance against an outstanding Kansas City team. I actually kind of feel like this may have been our best game all year just in terms of our toughness, our togetherness, sticking to the game plan and believing in one another."
UP NEXT
St. Thomas will play one home and one road game next week, leading off with the season series finale Thursday, Feb. 8 against Oral Roberts presented by Wings Credit Union. The Toms then travel Saturday, Feb. 10 at Denver for its first of two meetings before the end of the regular season.
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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