University of St. Thomas Athletics
Thursday, January 29
St. Paul, Minn.
7:00 p.m. CT
17-6,6-2Summit League
80
vs
81
North Dakota
13-12,7-2Summit League
1
2
F
North Dakota
35
46
81
St. Thomas (MN)
43
37
80
Photo by: Abby Bondi
Hawks snap Tommies’ home winning streak in 81-80 loss Thursday night
1/29/2026 10:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Minessale totals 16th 20-point game of season as St. Thomas takes first home loss since 2023-24
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The longest active home winning streak in NCAA Division I came to an end Thursday night as North Dakota overtook St. Thomas men's basketball, 81-80, at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena. The duo of Nick Janowski and Nolan Minessale each scored at least 20 points for the Tommies (17-6, 6-2 Summit League), Janowski's sixth of the Summit League season and Minessale's 16th of the regular season, as the Fighting Hawks (13-12, 7-2 Summit League) evened the regular season series.
FIRST HALF: St. Thomas opened the night with perimeter precision, as its first three baskets came from beyond the arc to stay within one early before Austin Herro found Ben Oosterbaan in the lane for a layup and an 11-10 Tommie lead just over four minutes in. North Dakota answered with seven straight points to regain control, but scores in the paint from Ryan Dufault and Oosterbaan, along with a free throw by Isaiah Johnson-Arigu, trimmed the deficit to one, 17-16. Nolan Minessale sparked the next surge with a layup at the 7:45 mark, igniting a 7-0 run that pushed St. Thomas back in front, 28-26.
After the Fighting Hawks briefly tied the game at 28-28, the Tommies seized momentum by converting three of their next five field-goal attempts and capitalizing on two UND turnovers during a 10-0 run for their largest lead of the half, 38-28, with two minutes remaining. St. Thomas carried a 43-35 advantage into halftime behind 13 points from Minessale, nine points on 4-of-6 shooting from Nick Janowski, and five points, four assists and two steals from Herro. The Tommies shot 55.6 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent from 3-point range while holding North Dakota to 28.6 percent from deep and winning the rebounding battle, 17-14.
SECOND HALF: St. Thomas struggled to find its rhythm early in the second half, making just two of its first eight shots as North Dakota hit seven of its first nine to erase the deficit and tie the game at 53-53 six minutes in. Following an UND and-one conversion that knotted the score, Janowski steadied the Tommies with a step-back 3-pointer and a fast-break layup to restore a five-point cushion, 58-53, at the under-12 media timeout. Herro followed with a layup and trip to the free throw line as St. Thomas converted three of four field goals over a 2:38 stretch, but the Fighting Hawks countered with four made baskets, including two 3-pointers, to pull within two, 66-64, entering the under-eight timeout.
The Tommies maintained a narrow edge down the stretch with timely free throws and finishes at the rim until the final 10 seconds, when North Dakota scored on a layup, forced a turnover on the ensuing inbound and converted the go-ahead basket with seven seconds remaining. A last-second attempt came up empty as St. Thomas' 28-game home winning streak came to an end in an 81-80 setback. North Dakota shot 56.3 percent in the second half compared to 43.3 percent for the Tommies.
TOMMIE TIDBITS
St. Thomas had won four straight in the series before Thursday's loss.
The Tommies' home winning streak ends at 28 games, tied for the third longest home winning streak in the country since the start of the 2021-22 season.
UST shot worse than its opponent for the eighth time this season, going 4-4 in those games. St. Thomas shot 49.1 percent from the field (28-57) and 35.0 percent on 3-pointers (7-20) while UND shot 50.0 percent overall (31-62) and 34.6 percent (9-26) from long range.
Nolan Minessale recorded his 16th 20-point game of the season, tied for the nation's most this season. He shot 7-of-18 overall with 8-of-12 from the free throw line as he added three assists.
Nick Janowski totaled 20 points on 9-of-17 shooting, his eighth 20-point game of the season and sixth of the Summit League schedule, along with five rebounds and five assists against UND.
Austin Herro scored in double figures for the fifth time this season with 11 on Thursday. He added eight rebounds, six assists and two steals, marking his third game of the season with 10+ points, 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists.
UP NEXT
St. Thomas remains at home Sunday, Feb. 1 with a 1 p.m. tip-off against Kansas City presented by 3KeyLogic. It's the first meeting between the programs this season and will be broadcast nationally and exclusively on CBS Sports Network.
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.
JOIN US
To reserve your seat to be a part of the Tommie's 2025-26 season, click HERE to view ticketing information and purchase options.
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
FIRST HALF: St. Thomas opened the night with perimeter precision, as its first three baskets came from beyond the arc to stay within one early before Austin Herro found Ben Oosterbaan in the lane for a layup and an 11-10 Tommie lead just over four minutes in. North Dakota answered with seven straight points to regain control, but scores in the paint from Ryan Dufault and Oosterbaan, along with a free throw by Isaiah Johnson-Arigu, trimmed the deficit to one, 17-16. Nolan Minessale sparked the next surge with a layup at the 7:45 mark, igniting a 7-0 run that pushed St. Thomas back in front, 28-26.
After the Fighting Hawks briefly tied the game at 28-28, the Tommies seized momentum by converting three of their next five field-goal attempts and capitalizing on two UND turnovers during a 10-0 run for their largest lead of the half, 38-28, with two minutes remaining. St. Thomas carried a 43-35 advantage into halftime behind 13 points from Minessale, nine points on 4-of-6 shooting from Nick Janowski, and five points, four assists and two steals from Herro. The Tommies shot 55.6 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent from 3-point range while holding North Dakota to 28.6 percent from deep and winning the rebounding battle, 17-14.
SECOND HALF: St. Thomas struggled to find its rhythm early in the second half, making just two of its first eight shots as North Dakota hit seven of its first nine to erase the deficit and tie the game at 53-53 six minutes in. Following an UND and-one conversion that knotted the score, Janowski steadied the Tommies with a step-back 3-pointer and a fast-break layup to restore a five-point cushion, 58-53, at the under-12 media timeout. Herro followed with a layup and trip to the free throw line as St. Thomas converted three of four field goals over a 2:38 stretch, but the Fighting Hawks countered with four made baskets, including two 3-pointers, to pull within two, 66-64, entering the under-eight timeout.
The Tommies maintained a narrow edge down the stretch with timely free throws and finishes at the rim until the final 10 seconds, when North Dakota scored on a layup, forced a turnover on the ensuing inbound and converted the go-ahead basket with seven seconds remaining. A last-second attempt came up empty as St. Thomas' 28-game home winning streak came to an end in an 81-80 setback. North Dakota shot 56.3 percent in the second half compared to 43.3 percent for the Tommies.
TOMMIE TIDBITS
St. Thomas had won four straight in the series before Thursday's loss.
The Tommies' home winning streak ends at 28 games, tied for the third longest home winning streak in the country since the start of the 2021-22 season.
UST shot worse than its opponent for the eighth time this season, going 4-4 in those games. St. Thomas shot 49.1 percent from the field (28-57) and 35.0 percent on 3-pointers (7-20) while UND shot 50.0 percent overall (31-62) and 34.6 percent (9-26) from long range.
Nolan Minessale recorded his 16th 20-point game of the season, tied for the nation's most this season. He shot 7-of-18 overall with 8-of-12 from the free throw line as he added three assists.
Nick Janowski totaled 20 points on 9-of-17 shooting, his eighth 20-point game of the season and sixth of the Summit League schedule, along with five rebounds and five assists against UND.
Austin Herro scored in double figures for the fifth time this season with 11 on Thursday. He added eight rebounds, six assists and two steals, marking his third game of the season with 10+ points, 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists.
UP NEXT
St. Thomas remains at home Sunday, Feb. 1 with a 1 p.m. tip-off against Kansas City presented by 3KeyLogic. It's the first meeting between the programs this season and will be broadcast nationally and exclusively on CBS Sports Network.
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.
JOIN US
To reserve your seat to be a part of the Tommie's 2025-26 season, click HERE to view ticketing information and purchase options.
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
Team Stats
UND
UST
FG%
.500
.491
3FG%
.346
.350
FT%
.667
.739
RB
31
34
TO
8
10
STL
7
5
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
8
Pts
20
FGM
9
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
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