Men’s Basketball falls short in Summit League title game, 85-75

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Another historic run by St. Thomas men's basketball came to a close Sunday following an 85-75 loss to Omaha in the Summit League Championship game at the Denny Sanford PRIEMER Center.

The Tommies closed their season with 24 total wins, setting the third highest single season mark by a transition team since 2000. St. Thomas also ended its fourth year in transition with the Summit League's most cumulative wins versus Division I opponents since 2022-23 with 55 and as the only team to advance to the semifinal round of the league tournament over each of the past three seasons.

Nolan Minessale finished as the Tommies' leading scorer Saturday night with 20 points, the freshman's fourth 20-point game of the season, while Miles Barnstable followed with 14 points, five rebounds and three assists. Kendall Blue led St. Thomas with 10 rebounds, his third such game of the season, to go along with nine points, three assists, one steal and one block.

A crowd of over 7,500 in attendance saw St. Thomas jump ahead 6-0 quickly behind 3-pointers from Rich Byhre and Minessale followed by another long ball by Byhre to lead 9-5. The Tommies and Mavericks traded leads five times over the opening 13 minutes as St. Thomas held its largest lead the rest of the way, 25-21, with eight minutes before halftime.

An 11-4 run fueled by three 3-pointers gave Omaha its final lead of the game. St. Thomas ended the first half shooting 36.4 percent (12-33) from the field and 23.5 percent (4-17) on 3-pointers, compared to 50.0 percent (16-32) overall by UNO, to trail 39-33.

The Mavericks lead grew to a game-high 15 points, 51-36, as the Tommies went six minutes without a field goal. St. Thomas' comeback bid began with a driving layup from Minessale followed quickly by an inbound steal and layup by Ryan Dufault, who finished with eight points to lead the bench.

Despite the UNO lead hovering around 10 for the majority of the period, back-to-back 3-pointers by Barnstable and Carter Bjerke cut the Omaha lead to 75-69 with 3:55 to play. The Maverick's stingy defense didn't allow the Tommies any closer as it went on to win its first-ever Summit League postseason title.

TOMMIE TIDBITS

The 24 wins this season is the third most by a team in a single season during its transition since 2000. Only Grand Canyon (27) and Tarleton State (25) have recorded more wins in a season during their transitions to DI. It's also the sixth 24-win season under Head Coach Johnny Tauer.
The Tommies are the only team to advance to the Summit League semifinal over each of the past three seasons while making its first appearance in the title game in 2025.
Nolan Minessale led the Tommies in scoring for the sixth time this season with 20 points, his fourth 20-point game of the season. He shot 6-of-10 overall, entering the game shooting 56.1 percent on the season, and tied a career-high three 3-pointers on five attempts.
Miles Barnstable totaled 14 points, 12 coming over the final 12 minutes of the game, on 5-of-10 shooting with five rebounds and three assists. He drained three 3-pointers for the sixth time over the last eight games.
Kendall Blue led the team with 10 rebounds, his team-high ninth time leading in rebounds, for his third game this season with at least 10. He scored nine points to go along with three assists, one steal and one block.
Drake Dobbs was one of three Tommies playing in their final collegiate career as he scored eight points with two rebounds, one assist and one steal. Rich Byhre finished with six points with three rebounds and one steal. Ben Nau ends his career with the most games played as a Tommie during the Division I era with 126. St. Thomas finished with 73 wins over the four-year period, which ranks second among all transition teams since 2000.

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-- St. Thomas Athletics --

Men’s Basketball falls short in Summit League title game, 85-75

Team Stats

Nolan Minessale

Miles Barnstable

Kendall Blue

Drake Dobbs

Players Mentioned

Miles Barnstable

Carter Bjerke

Kendall Blue

Rich Byhre

Drake Dobbs

Ryan Dufault

Nolan Minessale

Ben Nau

University of St. Thomas Athletics