University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, March 2
St. Paul, Minn.
7:00 p.m. Central
19-12,9-7Summit League
83
vs
58
Denver
15-16,6-10Summit League
1
2
F
Denver
21
37
58
St. Thomas (MN)
34
49
83
Team Stats
Denver
UST
FG%
.407
.611
3FG%
.214
.556
FT%
1.000
.700
RB
23
33
TO
7
6
STL
4
4
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballPhoto by: Rebecca Twite
Tommies close out home play in style with 83-58 win over Pioneers
3/2/2024 11:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball
St. Thomas shoots 61 percent, holds nation’s leading scorer to 0 points
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A strong defensive performance propelled St. Thomas men's basketball to an 83-58 victory over the Denver Pioneers on Senior Night Saturday evening in Schoenecker Arena. The Tommies close the regular season 19-12 overall and 9-7 in Summit League play, tying both win totals from a season ago.
The Tommies held the Summit League's number one offense to only 25 points in the first half, their lowest scoring first half since Dec. 13 against the nationally ranked 18th BYU Cougars at the time. The Tommie defense also held the nation's leading scorer, Tommy Bruner (25.7 points per game) to a scoreless night. Bruner played 24 minutes and was held to 0-of-5 shooting from the field.
Graduate student Parker Bjorklund led the scoring efforts for the Tommies, recording 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting along with a team-high seven rebounds and two blocks. Sophomore Kendall Blue and junior Ben Nau added 13 and 12 points, respectively. Blue shot 6-of-8 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds in addition to three assists and a block in another all-around performance. Ben Nau put on a clinic from 3-point land, knocking down 4-of-6 3-point attempts, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc in the first half.
In the last two seasons at Schoenecker Arena, the Tommies are an impressive 24-4 at home and end the 2023-2024 regular season. St. Thomas shot 61.1 percent from the floor (33-of-54), and 55.6 percent from beyond the arc (10-of-18). The Tommie defense held the Pioneer offense to 40.7 percent from the field (24-of-59) and 21.4 percent from 3-point range (6-of-28).
RECAP
From the tip-off St. Thomas brought its attack on senior night as Nau started off his hot shooting night giving the Toms an early 10-8 lead. A 7-0 run for the Purple followed credited to back-to-back 3-pointers by Nau and graduate student Raheem Anthony. The Tommies then proceeded to go their largest scoring run of the game, 14-0, to go up by 20 points, 31-11 with 4:51 remaining until the halftime break.
Denver battled back in the last four minutes of first half play, and a free throw by Bjorklund ended the half with the Toms leading 34-21.
The Tommies and Pioneers battled coming out of the break until a fastbreak jumper by Anthony, a layup by junior Ryan Dufault, and the fourth 3-pointer by Nau brought the Purple lead back to 20 points. A jumper in the paint by senior Drake Dobbs gave the Tommies their largest lead of the day of 26 points, 63-37, with 7:57 left on the clock.
A pair of free throws and a fastbreak layup by senior Dom Martinelli ended the scoring efforts for the Tommies and the Purple found themselves up 83-58 as the final buzzer sounded for the last time in Schoenecker Arena during the 2023-2024 season.
TOP TOMMIES
· Graduate student Parker Bjorklund led the scoring efforts for the Tommies, recording 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting along with a team-high seven rebounds and two blocks.
· Sophomore Kendall Blue scored 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field along with seven rebounds, three assists and a block in another all-around performance.
· Junior Ben Nau put on a clinic from 3-point land, knocking down 4-of-6 3-point attempts, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc in the first half, to finish with 12 points.
· The St. Thomas starters shot a combined 23-of-39 from the floor and 5-of-9 from downtown while grabbing a total of 22 rebounds and dishing out 15 assists in the final regular season victory.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Johnny Tauer following Saturday afternoons final regular season home game of the 2023-2024 season:
"Special night tonight on senior night, we got a chance to honor our eight athletes and couldn't ask for a better night tonight. We played incredibly well, and our defense has returned to its best form. It was such a collected effort, and I am very proud of where we are at in Year 3 of the D1 transition."
"I thought the crowd was electric and I'm grateful to everyone who works to create this atmosphere. The way these guys played, the unselfishness, the toughness, creates a competitive leadership that our guys embody. Our veterans who understand what our teams values are what creates this culture."
SENIOR NIGHT QUOTES
Graduate students Parker Bjorklund, Raheem Anthony, and Brooks Allen on their victory Saturday evening and their careers as a Tommie:
"It was a surreal night tonight, these boys are super special to this community and our team, and I think we have great momentum heading into the tournament. The atmosphere was electric tonight, and props to the fans for supporting us." - Graduate student Parker Bjorklund
"I'm glad I chose to be a Tommie, our team was super well connected, and it was a full circle moment for me. Having our teams spark off the bench makes for an unbelievably complete team, and it was a great team victory."- Graduate student Raheem Anthony
"I'm super proud to be given an opportunity to represent St. Thomas and I'm glad this is where I could play. Big credit to our fans, our home advantage is felt, and we feed off of the energy." - Graduate student Brooks Allen
SUMMIT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT SEEDING SCENARIOS
The Tommies enter the final day of conference play either finishing as the number three, or number four seed heading into the 2024 Summit League Tournament.
St. Thomas would finish with the number three seed if Kansas City loses to Oral Roberts Sunday afternoon and would play Omaha at 8:30 p.m. CT on Sunday, March 10th in Sioux Falls, S.D.
St. Thomas would finish with the number four seed if Kansas City beats Oral Roberts on Sunday and would play North Dakota State on Sunday March 10th at 6 p.m. CT at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls.
FOLLOW ALONG
For more information on St. Thomas Men's Basketball, follow along on X (formerly Twitter) at @TommieMBBall and on Instagram at @TommieHoops
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
The Tommies held the Summit League's number one offense to only 25 points in the first half, their lowest scoring first half since Dec. 13 against the nationally ranked 18th BYU Cougars at the time. The Tommie defense also held the nation's leading scorer, Tommy Bruner (25.7 points per game) to a scoreless night. Bruner played 24 minutes and was held to 0-of-5 shooting from the field.
Graduate student Parker Bjorklund led the scoring efforts for the Tommies, recording 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting along with a team-high seven rebounds and two blocks. Sophomore Kendall Blue and junior Ben Nau added 13 and 12 points, respectively. Blue shot 6-of-8 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds in addition to three assists and a block in another all-around performance. Ben Nau put on a clinic from 3-point land, knocking down 4-of-6 3-point attempts, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc in the first half.
In the last two seasons at Schoenecker Arena, the Tommies are an impressive 24-4 at home and end the 2023-2024 regular season. St. Thomas shot 61.1 percent from the floor (33-of-54), and 55.6 percent from beyond the arc (10-of-18). The Tommie defense held the Pioneer offense to 40.7 percent from the field (24-of-59) and 21.4 percent from 3-point range (6-of-28).
RECAP
From the tip-off St. Thomas brought its attack on senior night as Nau started off his hot shooting night giving the Toms an early 10-8 lead. A 7-0 run for the Purple followed credited to back-to-back 3-pointers by Nau and graduate student Raheem Anthony. The Tommies then proceeded to go their largest scoring run of the game, 14-0, to go up by 20 points, 31-11 with 4:51 remaining until the halftime break.
Denver battled back in the last four minutes of first half play, and a free throw by Bjorklund ended the half with the Toms leading 34-21.
The Tommies and Pioneers battled coming out of the break until a fastbreak jumper by Anthony, a layup by junior Ryan Dufault, and the fourth 3-pointer by Nau brought the Purple lead back to 20 points. A jumper in the paint by senior Drake Dobbs gave the Tommies their largest lead of the day of 26 points, 63-37, with 7:57 left on the clock.
A pair of free throws and a fastbreak layup by senior Dom Martinelli ended the scoring efforts for the Tommies and the Purple found themselves up 83-58 as the final buzzer sounded for the last time in Schoenecker Arena during the 2023-2024 season.
TOP TOMMIES
· Graduate student Parker Bjorklund led the scoring efforts for the Tommies, recording 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting along with a team-high seven rebounds and two blocks.
· Sophomore Kendall Blue scored 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field along with seven rebounds, three assists and a block in another all-around performance.
· Junior Ben Nau put on a clinic from 3-point land, knocking down 4-of-6 3-point attempts, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc in the first half, to finish with 12 points.
· The St. Thomas starters shot a combined 23-of-39 from the floor and 5-of-9 from downtown while grabbing a total of 22 rebounds and dishing out 15 assists in the final regular season victory.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Johnny Tauer following Saturday afternoons final regular season home game of the 2023-2024 season:
"Special night tonight on senior night, we got a chance to honor our eight athletes and couldn't ask for a better night tonight. We played incredibly well, and our defense has returned to its best form. It was such a collected effort, and I am very proud of where we are at in Year 3 of the D1 transition."
"I thought the crowd was electric and I'm grateful to everyone who works to create this atmosphere. The way these guys played, the unselfishness, the toughness, creates a competitive leadership that our guys embody. Our veterans who understand what our teams values are what creates this culture."
SENIOR NIGHT QUOTES
Graduate students Parker Bjorklund, Raheem Anthony, and Brooks Allen on their victory Saturday evening and their careers as a Tommie:
"It was a surreal night tonight, these boys are super special to this community and our team, and I think we have great momentum heading into the tournament. The atmosphere was electric tonight, and props to the fans for supporting us." - Graduate student Parker Bjorklund
"I'm glad I chose to be a Tommie, our team was super well connected, and it was a full circle moment for me. Having our teams spark off the bench makes for an unbelievably complete team, and it was a great team victory."- Graduate student Raheem Anthony
"I'm super proud to be given an opportunity to represent St. Thomas and I'm glad this is where I could play. Big credit to our fans, our home advantage is felt, and we feed off of the energy." - Graduate student Brooks Allen
SUMMIT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT SEEDING SCENARIOS
The Tommies enter the final day of conference play either finishing as the number three, or number four seed heading into the 2024 Summit League Tournament.
St. Thomas would finish with the number three seed if Kansas City loses to Oral Roberts Sunday afternoon and would play Omaha at 8:30 p.m. CT on Sunday, March 10th in Sioux Falls, S.D.
St. Thomas would finish with the number four seed if Kansas City beats Oral Roberts on Sunday and would play North Dakota State on Sunday March 10th at 6 p.m. CT at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls.
FOLLOW ALONG
For more information on St. Thomas Men's Basketball, follow along on X (formerly Twitter) at @TommieMBBall and on Instagram at @TommieHoops
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
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