Mavericks come back to down Tommies 98-94 in Omaha

OMAHA, Neb. — Nolan Minessale broke the program's Division I single-season scoring record Thursday night, but St. Thomas men's basketball fell 98-94 at Omaha, as the Mavericks closed the game shooting 6-of-7 from the field and 12-of-12 from the free-throw line. The Tommies (20-7, 9-3 Summit League) shot 57.8 percent from the floor and 42.4 percent from 3-point range but were outscored by 19 points at the stripe to the Mavericks (13-14, 6-6 Summit League).

FIRST HALF: Omaha opened the night with a 3-pointer before Nick Janowski answered with a layup and Carter Bjerke followed with a 3-pointer to give St. Thomas its first lead. The Mavericks responded with an 8-0 run, fueled by a pair of 3-pointers, and held the advantage for much of the opening eight minutes as the Tommies committed four early turnovers.

St. Thomas settled in over the final 12 minutes, not turning the ball over again in the half. Ryan Dufault delivered both Tommie go-ahead baskets during that stretch, knocking down his second 3-pointer of the season and later converting a turnaround jumper for a 25-23 edge with 6:33 remaining. Omaha reclaimed the lead behind one of its five first-half 3-pointers and closed the half on a 7-of-7 shooting stretch. Despite the Tommies shooting 58.6 percent (17-of-29) from the field, they went just 3-of-10 at the free-throw line compared to Omaha's 10-of-11 effort, trailing 47-42 at the break.

SECOND HALF: Nolan Minessale opened the second half with a basket to begin what became a 15-point half, but Omaha pushed its lead to a game-high nine, 56-47, less than four minutes into the period. Minessale responded with his first 3-pointer of the night — the basket that gave him 532 points on the season and broke the program's Division I single-season scoring record — igniting an 11-0 run. He scored seven during the surge as the Tommies grabbed a 58-56 lead.

After the teams traded scores, St. Thomas built a five-point advantage behind back-to-back three-point plays — a Jermaine Coleman 3-pointer and an and-one conversion from Minessale — before Isaiah Johnson-Arigu extended the margin to 68-61 at the line. Following a near four-minute scoring drought and a 70-70 tie, Ben Oosterbaan drilled a 3-pointer and Johnson-Arigu followed with another to reclaim a 76-71 lead. Omaha answered with consecutive 3-pointers to take its final lead and closed the game shooting 6-of-7 from the field and 12-of-12 at the free-throw line to secure a 98-94 decision.

TOMMIE TIDBITS

St. Thomas dropped its third straight game in Omaha and has not won at Baxter Arena since Feb. 2, 2023.
The Tommies shot 57.8 percent (37-of-64) from the field and 42.4 percent (14-of-33) from 3-point range but went 6-of-14 at the free-throw line, while Omaha shot 53.3 percent (32-of-60) overall, 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from 3 and 25-of-28 at the stripe.
Eight of St. Thomas' 12 turnovers came in the second half, leading to 17 Omaha points.
Nolan Minessale scored 15 of his 17 points after halftime and set the program's Division I single-season scoring record with 542 points, surpassing Andrew Rohde's 531 points from 2022-23.
Minessale added nine assists, five rebounds and three steals, finishing one assist shy of a double-double.
Isaiah Johnson-Arigu led the Tommies with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting and totaled five rebounds.
Ben Oosterbaan scored 13 points and tied Nick Janowski, who had 10 points, for a team-high six rebounds.
Ryan Dufault finished with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting and three steals, while Jermaine Coleman added 11 points off the bench.

UP NEXT
St. Thomas hits the middle of its three-game road trip Saturday, Feb. 14 as it faces Kansas City.

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.

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-- St. Thomas Athletics --

Mavericks come back to down Tommies 98-94 in Omaha

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Team Stats

Isaiah Johnson-Arigu

Nolan Minessale

Ben Oosterbaan

Ryan Dufault

Players Mentioned

Carter Bjerke

Jermaine Coleman

Ryan Dufault

Nick Janowski

Isaiah Johnson-Arigu

Nolan Minessale

Ben Oosterbaan

University of St. Thomas Athletics