Blue surpasses 1,000 career points, Tommies move on to championship

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- On the biggest stage so far of the short Division I era, Kendall Blue surpassed 1,000 career points to help lift No. 2 seed St. Thomas men's basketball to an 85-69 win over No. 6 North Dakota Saturday night, advancing the team to the Summit League Championship title game.

Blue led the Tommies (24-9, 12-4 Summit League) with 21 points, his fourth 20-point game of the season, to become the 37th player in program history to reach the career milestone all in the Purple and Gray. He's also the 20th Tommie in program history with over 1,000 points and 375 rebounds in their career, all at St. Thomas.

St. Thomas overcame a sluggish start, shooting 36.7 percent (11-30) over the first 20 minutes, to finish shooting 50.0 percent (31-62) from the field and 41.4 percent (12-29) on 3-pointers. Blue, Miles Barnstable and Drake Dobbs each scored 11 points in the second half.

The Tommies forced a DI-era high 24 turnovers from the Fighting Hawks (12-21, 5-11 Summit League), 10 in the first half and 14 in the second, which led to 40 points for the Purple. It's the most turnovers forced overall since Dec. 7, 2019, when Gustavus gave away 25 turnovers.

North Dakota used a 10-0 scoring run in the first half to take a game-high 11-point lead, 25-14, before St. Thomas closed the half on a 19-8 run for a 33-33 tie.

The Purple made three of their first four field goal attempts, along with three free throws from Dobbs, to grab early momentum in the second half and a 44-38 lead. Blue came back with back-to-back baskets in the paint five minutes later, the second of which solidified his 1,000th career point and the Tommies' first double digit lead. It was the start of a 10-0 run to push the lead to 17, 64-47. St. Thomas shot 62.5 percent (20-32) over the second half and led by as many as 22 with 2:38 to play.

TOMMIE TIDBITS

With the St. Thomas win, Omaha secured an appearance in the NCAA Division I Tournament after finishing as the regular season champion.
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.
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 24 turnovers forced by St. Thomas is a DI era high and the most since forcing 25 against Gustavus on Dec. 7, 2019. The turnovers led to 40 points for St. Thomas, also a DI era high.
Kendall Blue became the second player to score 1,000 points all during the DI era, the 37th player to score at least 1,000 career points all-time in the Purple and Gray, and the 42nd player to play for the Tommies to score as many career collegiate points. He also became the 20th Tommie in program history to record 1,000 points and 375 rebounds all at St. Thomas. Blue's 375th career rebound came Feb. 27, 2025 against North Dakota.
Carter Bjerke and Drake Dobbs each finished with 15 points, the duo combining to shoot 11-of-16 from the field and 5-of-8 on 3-pointers. Dobbs went 5-of-5 from the field, 2-of-2 from long range and 3-of-3 from the free throw line while adding five assists with no turnovers and three rebounds. Bjerke pulled down three rebounds and recorded one assist and one steal.

UP NEXT
St. Thomas and Omaha tip-off at 8 p.m. CT Sunday in the Summit League Championship game, the first appearance in the game for the Tommies. With a Tommies win, it would mark the fifth transition program (sixth transition team) to win a conference tournament championship since 2000.

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-- St. Thomas Athletics --

Blue surpasses 1,000 career points, Tommies move on to championship

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Team Stats

Kendall Blue

Drake Dobbs

Carter Bjerke

Miles Barnstable

Players Mentioned

Miles Barnstable

Carter Bjerke

Kendall Blue

Drake Dobbs

University of St. Thomas Athletics