Minessale scores 17 as Tommies fall at Golden Eagles, 71-66

TULSA, Okla. -- Nolan Minessale led St. Thomas with 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting Saturday night during a 71-66 loss at Oral Roberts in Tulsa, Okla., to end road games. The Tommies (20-9, 10-4 Summit League) dropped back-to-back games for the first time since November.

Fifteen of Minessale's 17 points came in the second half but the Golden Eagles outscored the Tommies in the half, 46-39. St. Thomas held a 27-25 lead at halftime, losing for just the third time this season when leading after 20 minutes.

ORU led by as many as seven midway through the first half before a layup by Kendall Blue, who finished with nine points, sparked a 10-0 run to go ahead, 25-22. The Tommies' 30.8 percent shooting in the first half tied for the third lowest shooting percentage in a half this season.

The second half featured 11 lead changes, the last of which came on an ORU 3-pointer with 7:39 to play. The Golden Eagle lead grew to as many as eight, 62-54, just before Minessale and Carter Bjerke combined for a 6-0 run to cut it to two with 29 seconds to play. ORU made 9-of-10 free throws from that point to end its three-game losing skid to St. Thomas.

TOMMIE TIDBITS

St. Thomas fell to 1-3 against Oral Roberts in Tulsa, Okla. The Tommies won its first road game in the series its last time in Tulsa in January 2024.
After starting the season 19-1 when leading at halftime, the Tommies have now lost two in a row when leading after 20 minutes. It's the first loss in 11 games this season when outrebounding an opponent (37-36) and the third loss in 20 games when posting a higher field goal percentage (40.0%-36.2%).
Nolan Minessale led the Tommies in scoring for the fifth time this season, going 3-2 in those games. He shot 6-of-7 from the field and 5-of-8 from the free throw line, and added six rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal.
Carter Bjerke and Ben Nau each scored 12 points, both making four 3-pointers. Bjerke led the team with a career high seven rebounds while Nau added five rebounds, one shy of a career high.

UP NEXT
The Tommies return home to Schoenecker Arena where it is tied for the nation's longest active home winning streak at 16 games. St. Thomas hosts North Dakota on Thursday, Feb. 27 before senior day and the final game played in Schoenecker Arena against Kansas City on Saturday, March 1.

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-- St. Thomas Athletics --

Minessale scores 17 as Tommies fall at Golden Eagles, 71-66

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Team Stats

Nolan Minessale

Ben Nau

Carter Bjerke

Kendall Blue

Players Mentioned

Carter Bjerke

Kendall Blue

Nolan Minessale

Ben Nau

University of St. Thomas Athletics