University of St. Thomas Athletics
Thursday, January 2
Fargo, N.D. / Scheels Center
7:00 p.m. Central
89
at
85
North Dakota State
Photo by: Collin Boyles
Tommies secure first DI road win over Bison, 89-85
1/2/2025 10:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Barnstable leads with 20 points, Dobbs finishes with 18 overall and 12 in second half
FARGO, N.D. -- Grad student Drake Dobbs took over late with 10 straight points to lift St. Thomas men's basketball to its first road win at North Dakota State since joining the Summit League, 89-85. Dobbs finished with 18 points while Miles Barnstable led with 20 as the Tommies improve to 11-5 overall and 1-0 in league play.
Head Coach Johnny Tauer is now 4-0 in Summit League openers since joining the league in 2021-22 and won his 10th straight conference opener overall with the Tommies. Since taking over in 2011-12, Tauer and St. Thomas are 13-1 in conference openers.
Dobbs scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half, including 10 straight for the Tommies over a two-minute span late in the second half. He finished 5-of-8 shooting overall, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range, and 4-of-4 from the free throw line to go along with four assists and no turnovers, and three rebounds. Barnstable shot 6-for-11 from the field and 5-of-7 from the charity stripe with three rebounds, one assist and one steal.
The Tommies shot above 50 percent (54.4) overall for the ninth time this season, winning all nine games, and tied a season high 15 3-pointers while shooting at least 45 percent (46.9) from long range for the fourth time. St. Thomas tied a season low with four turnovers given away, entering the season with four or fewer turnovers in five games since joining DI.
Thursday was the second time this season St. Thomas had won despite losing the rebound margin by at least 15 (40-25), previously defeating Western Michigan despite a -18-rebound margin. The Tommies had won two games over the previous three seasons when trailing the rebound margin by at least 15.
GAME RECAP
Kendall Blue got the first score of the league schedule with a 3-pointer assisted by Nolan Minessale, one of his five in the first half to set a career high. Barnstable, Blue, Rich Byhre and Drake Dobbs continued the long ball trend as the Tommies' first six field goals made all came beyond the arc to lead, 20-13. St. Thomas overcame an early deficit with an 11-0 run to end the trend as Drake Dobbs sank his first 3-pointer of the game.
Minessale put in a driving layup and took a steal for a fast break dunk before Ryan Dufault scored his first points on a jumper in the paint to push the Tommie lead to double digits, 28-18, with 8:33 until halftime. Another 3-pointer from Dobbs pushed the lead to 12 three minutes later. NDSU got into a rhythm with a 17-4 run for its first lead since early, 39-38, but Blue dropped in his third 3-pointer to give the halftime lead to the Purple, 41-39.
The second half shows from Barnstable, Dobbs and Ben Nau started out of the halftime break as the trio combined for the first 13 Tommie points of the second half. Barnstable scored eight of the team's first 10 points while Dobbs put in a layup for his final score until the 2:27 mark. Nau scored his first points of the game on a 3-pointer to extend the Tommie lead to 54-49 just under five minutes into the second half.
The Bison chipped away at the Tommie lead until a 5-0 run gave NDSU its first lead since late in the first half. Following a layup from Nau, who finished with nine points all in the second half, the Bison hit a 3-pointer to set its largest lead of the half, 69-65, with 8:28 to play.
Nau again answered the NDSU run with a driving layup that started a 7-0 St. Thomas run and began three lead changes over the next three minutes. The final lead change came as Dobbs made a 3-pointer to pull ahead, 79-78, with 2:27 to go. After one NDSU free throw to tie the game, Dobbs again hit a long ball for the final Tommie lead of the night. He scored 10 straight for the Tommies including going 4-of-4 from the free throw line with under 30 seconds to play to seal the win.
TOMMIE TIDBITS
Head Coach Johnny Tauer is now 4-0 in Summit League openers since joining the league in 2021-22 and won his 10th straight conference opener overall with the Tommies. Since taking over in 2011-12, Tauer and St. Thomas are 13-1 in conference openers.
Dobbs scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half, including 10 straight for the Tommies over a two-minute span late in the second half. He finished 5-of-8 shooting overall, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range, and 4-of-4 from the free throw line to go along with four assists and no turnovers, and three rebounds. Barnstable shot 6-for-11 from the field and 5-of-7 from the charity stripe with three rebounds, one assist and one steal.
The Tommies shot above 50 percent (54.4) overall for the ninth time this season, winning all nine games, and tied a season high 15 3-pointers while shooting at least 45 percent (46.9) from long range for the fourth time. St. Thomas tied a season low with four turnovers given away, entering the season with four or fewer turnovers in five games since joining DI.
Thursday was the second time this season St. Thomas had won despite losing the rebound margin by at least 15 (40-25), previously defeating Western Michigan despite a -18-rebound margin. The Tommies had won two games over the previous three seasons when trailing the rebound margin by at least 15.
GAME RECAP
Kendall Blue got the first score of the league schedule with a 3-pointer assisted by Nolan Minessale, one of his five in the first half to set a career high. Barnstable, Blue, Rich Byhre and Drake Dobbs continued the long ball trend as the Tommies' first six field goals made all came beyond the arc to lead, 20-13. St. Thomas overcame an early deficit with an 11-0 run to end the trend as Drake Dobbs sank his first 3-pointer of the game.
Minessale put in a driving layup and took a steal for a fast break dunk before Ryan Dufault scored his first points on a jumper in the paint to push the Tommie lead to double digits, 28-18, with 8:33 until halftime. Another 3-pointer from Dobbs pushed the lead to 12 three minutes later. NDSU got into a rhythm with a 17-4 run for its first lead since early, 39-38, but Blue dropped in his third 3-pointer to give the halftime lead to the Purple, 41-39.
The second half shows from Barnstable, Dobbs and Ben Nau started out of the halftime break as the trio combined for the first 13 Tommie points of the second half. Barnstable scored eight of the team's first 10 points while Dobbs put in a layup for his final score until the 2:27 mark. Nau scored his first points of the game on a 3-pointer to extend the Tommie lead to 54-49 just under five minutes into the second half.
The Bison chipped away at the Tommie lead until a 5-0 run gave NDSU its first lead since late in the first half. Following a layup from Nau, who finished with nine points all in the second half, the Bison hit a 3-pointer to set its largest lead of the half, 69-65, with 8:28 to play.
Nau again answered the NDSU run with a driving layup that started a 7-0 St. Thomas run and began three lead changes over the next three minutes. The final lead change came as Dobbs made a 3-pointer to pull ahead, 79-78, with 2:27 to go. After one NDSU free throw to tie the game, Dobbs again hit a long ball for the final Tommie lead of the night. He scored 10 straight for the Tommies including going 4-of-4 from the free throw line with under 30 seconds to play to seal the win.
TOMMIE TIDBITS
- Miles Barnstable led St. Thomas in scoring for a team best sixth time this season, recording his fourth 20-point game of the season. He scored 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-8 from 3-point range, and 5-of-7 from the free throw line.
- Drake Dobbs has scored at least 18 points in three straight games, the third Tommie to do so during the DI era. Andrew Rohde recorded two separate streaks (one of three games, one of five games) in 2022-23 while Riley Miller also recorded two separate streaks (one of three games, one of four games) in 2022-23 and 2021-22. In addition to his scoring, Dobbs added four assists, three rebounds and no turnovers. It was his third career game with at least four assists and no turnovers, and second career game with at least four assists, no turnovers and double-digit points.
- Kendall Blue scored 12 of his 15 points in the first half, finishing 5-of-11 from the field and 4-of-7 from long range. He's hit at least 15 points in five games this season (Tommies 4-1 in those games).
- Nolan Minessale career high assists in first half alone
- St. Thomas improved to 11-0 this season when leading at halftime and has scored at least 87 points in 10 of its 11 wins this season.
- NDSU won the rebound margin, 40-25, marking the second time St. Thomas won despite trailing the margin by at least 15. The Purple previously defeated Western Michigan despite a -18-rebound margin and had won two games over the previous three seasons when trailing the rebound margin by at least 15.
- The Tommies shot 63.0 percent in the second half, the sixth time this season shooting above 60 percent in a half. St. Thomas is now 4-0 in games when it shoots at least 60 percent in a half.
- Head Coach Johnny Tauer is now 4-0 in Summit League openers since joining the league in 2021-22 and won his 10th straight conference opener overall with the Tommies. Since taking over in 2011-12, Tauer and St. Thomas are 13-1 in conference openers.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Johnny Tauer following his fourth straight Summit League opening win:
"We've had a lot of inspiring wins, but I told the guys that's about as tough as we've played against an outstanding team. I mean, they're one of the best mid-major teams in the country. They've certainly been playing like it. They're an offensive juggernaut and you saw why tonight.
"They've got individuals who are incredible and they're really unselfish and well-coached and so to come in to this environment against a team like that with a proud tradition, I just couldn't be prouder."
UP NEXT
St. Thomas aims to go 2-0 to start Summit League play for the third straight season as it travels to face North Dakota on Saturday, Jan. 4 in Grand Forks, N.D. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center before the Tommies open Summit League home play Wednesday, Jan. 8 against South Dakota State.
JOIN US
To reserve your seat to be a part of the Tommies' 2024-25 season, click HERE to view ticketing information and purchase options.
FOLLOW ALONG
For more information on St. Thomas Men's Basketball, follow along on X (formerly Twitter) at @TommieMBBall and on Instagram at @TommieHoops
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