St. Thomas secures Portland Invitational title with 76-66 win over Portland

PORTLAND, Ore. – St. Thomas men's basketball claimed the Portland Invitational title Sunday following a 76-66 win over the host Portland in Portland, Ore. Sophomore Nolan Minessale extended his season-opening 20-point scoring streak with a team high 24 points as he (Most Valuable Player) and redshirt-freshman Nick Janowski were named to the all-tournament team.

SCORING SUMMARY:
First Half: St. Thomas opened the afternoon with a blistering start, forcing five Portland turnovers in the first 90 seconds and racing out to a 14-0 lead behind eight points from Janowski and a transition dunk from Minessale. The Tommies pushed the margin to 17-2 as Carter Bjerke buried his second 3-pointer of the half, but Portland slowly steadied itself and began climbing back.

The Pilots used a pair of 3-pointers and better control of the defensive glass to cut the deficit to 21-17 with 9:42 remaining. Janowski answered with a step-back 3-pointer and the Tommies briefly rebuilt a seven-point margin, but Portland continued to generate scoring at the rim as the half wore on. The Pilots pulled within two, 31-29, with just over a minute left before a late 3-pointer from Isaiah Johnson-Arigu pushed the lead back to five. A Portland answer in the final seconds sent St. Thomas into the break with a 36-34 advantage.

Second Half: The Tommies again struck first as Minessale scored on back-to-back possessions, but Portland countered quickly and tied the game at 42-42. St. Thomas responded with a strong stretch from Janowski, Johnson-Arigu and Ben Oosterbaan, highlighted by consecutive 3-pointers from Oosterbaan to build a 56-49 lead with just over 11 minutes remaining.

Portland surged again, using second-chance points and a 3-pointer to make it a one-possession game at 59-57. The Tommies absorbed the punch and countered with a sequence of timely perimeter shooting, including a Bjerke 3-pointer and a transition layup by Minessale to extend the lead back to six. A late defensive stand helped seal the result as St. Thomas forced a turnover and scored in transition through Janowski to go up eight. The Tommies closed out the final minute at the free-throw line to secure a 76-66 win.

TOMMIE TIDBITS

Nolan Minessale led all scorers with 24 points on 7-of-17 shooting, adding four rebounds, three assists and a team-high five steals. His 20-point scoring streak is now at eight games to start the 2025-26 season and nine games dating back to last season.
Nick Janowski totaled 15 points, hit three 3-pointers, and added four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Minessale and Janowski were both selected to the Portland Invitational All-Tournament while Minessale was named the Most Valuable Player.
Carter Bjerke delivered his most efficient outing of the season, scoring 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting—all from 3-point range—and a perfect 4-of-4 at the line, with six rebounds and three assists.
Ben Oosterbaan provided eight points, four assists, two rebounds and three steals. Isaiah Johnson-Arigu added seven points off the bench with three rebounds and two assists.
St. Thomas' starting five combined for 67 of the team's 76 points while the team scored 28 points off 20 Portland turnovers. The Tommies finished with 18 assists on 25 made field goals and recorded five blocks.

UP NEXT
St. Thomas is back at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 29 to take on Lawrence University.

FOLLOW ALONG
For more information on St. Thomas Men's Basketball, follow along on X at @TommieMBBall and Instagram at @tommiehoops. Tommie Athletics is now on TikTok at @tommiesports.

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-- St. Thomas Athletics --

St. Thomas secures Portland Invitational title with 76-66 win over Portland

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Team Stats

Nolan Minessale

Carter Bjerke

Nick Janowski

Ben Oosterbaan

Players Mentioned

Carter Bjerke

Nick Janowski

Isaiah Johnson-Arigu

Nolan Minessale

Ben Oosterbaan

University of St. Thomas Athletics