Tommies advance to semifinals behind 80-62 win over Pioneers

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- For the third time in as many seasons playing in the Summit League Championships, St. Thomas men's basketball advanced to the semifinal round after it defeated No. 7 seed Denver, 80-62, at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.

The Tommies (23-9) were led in scoring by Miles Barnstable with 17 points and Kendall Blue with 15, including 13 in the first half, as the Purple beat Denver (11-21) for the third time this season.

Barnstable scored 11 points with five rebounds in the second half as he led the team in scoring overall for the 13th time this season, going 11-2 in those games. The Tommies won the rebound margin, 31-26, going 12-1 when outrebounding their opponents.

The Tommies needed a few minutes to find their footing as both teams traded leads four times over the first five minutes. Carter Bjerke sank his first 3-pointer to cap a 7-0 run, which included four free throws, for the final Tommie lead of the night, 14-8. Kendall Blue scored 13 points in the first half as St. Thomas shot 59.1 percent as a team over the opening 20 minutes, taking a 48-32 lead into halftime.

Denver cut the deficit to 12, 52-40, four minutes into the second half just before a layup by Blue and 3-pointers from Bjerke and Barnstable pushed the lead to 20, 60-40.

TOMMIE TIDBITS

The Tommies have advanced to the semifinals in all three appearances at the Summit League Championships, playing the eventual tournament champions in the previous two. St. Thomas is the only Summit League team to qualify for the semifinal over each of the past three seasons, with South Dakota State joining the list with a win on Friday. The Tommies will play the winner of the SDSU versus North Dakota quarterfinal game.
The 23-win season is the sixth all-time under Head Coach Johnny Tauer, while it's the fourth time a transition team has totaled as many wins in a season since 2000.
Miles Barnstable led the team in scoring for the 13th time this season, dropping 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting and 3-of-6 on 3-pointers. He followed Rich Byhre (seven rebounds in 13 minutes) with six rebounds.
Kendall Blue recorded at least 15 points for the 10th time this season, shooting 5-of-10 overall and 3-of-5 on 3-pointers. Carter Bjerke led the bench with 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting and 3-of-4 from long range, his 17th career game with at least three 3-pointers in a game, which ranks third most for the program during the DI era.
Drake Dobbs dished out eight assists, the second most by a Tommie during the DI era, with only one assist.

UP NEXT
St. Thomas earned a rest day on Friday and will take on the winner of No. 3 South Dakota State and No. 6 North Dakota, who tip-off Friday night. The Tommies will play at 9:30 p.m. CT at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Cetner on Saturday against the winner.

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-- St. Thomas Athletics --

Tommies advance to semifinals behind 80-62 win over Pioneers

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Team Stats

Miles Barnstable

Kendall Blue

Carter Bjerke

Nolan Minessale

Players Mentioned

Miles Barnstable

Carter Bjerke

Kendall Blue

Rich Byhre

Drake Dobbs

University of St. Thomas Athletics