Pioneers' late shot dooms Tommies in 82-80 road loss

DENVER -- Six Tommies scored in double figures Saturday night, but a late Denver 3-pointer spoiled St. Thomas men's basketball's road finale in an 82-80 loss at Hamilton Gymnasium. Nick Janowski led the way with 19 points as the Tommies (21-8, 10-4 Summit League) shot 55.2 percent from the field and outrebounded the Pioneers (15-15, 8-7 Summit League) by nine, but Denver closed on a decisive 3-pointer in the final seconds to secure the win.

FIRST HALF: Nick Janowski opened the scoring with a 3-pointer before Nolan Minessale and Isaiah Johnson-Arigu added layups to give St. Thomas an early 7-5 edge. The Tommies shot 6-of-10 to start and extended the lead to 15-12 but cooled off, making just two of their next nine attempts as Denver seized momentum. The Pioneers connected on 8-of-12 field goals during a 19-7 surge to build a first-half-high nine-point lead, 31-22, with 4:15 remaining.

St. Thomas responded with its sharpest stretch of the half. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Jermaine Coleman and Ben Oosterbaan ignited a 17-6 run over the final 3:41. Oosterbaan buried two triples in the span while Janowski scored four points, including a layup just before the buzzer to send the Tommies into halftime ahead, 39-37. UST shot 6-of-8 from the floor and 3-of-3 from deep during the closing run and finished the half at 53.3 percent overall, compared to 40.6 percent for Denver.

SECOND HALF: Janowski and Minessale opened the second half with consecutive layups, the latter an and-one, to stretch the lead to 43-37. After Denver answered, the Tommies used a 10-3 run, capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from Carter Bjerke, to build a nine-point cushion. Johnson-Arigu followed with five straight points to reach double figures, and Hayden Tibbits converted a fast-break layup off a Janowski assist to make it 61-52 near the 10-minute mark.

Denver refused to fold, using a 14-5 run to tie the game at 66-66. Ryan Dufault answered with six consecutive points to keep St. Thomas in front, but the Pioneers reclaimed the lead, 74-73, on an 8-3 push. Tibbits knocked down his first shot of the night, a 3-pointer in front of the Tommie bench, to swing the lead back to the Tommies, and both teams traded scores in the final minute. Oosterbaan split a pair at the line to give UST an 80-78 edge before Denver drilled a 3-pointer with 8.9 seconds remaining. A half-court attempt at the horn fell short as the Tommies dropped an 82-80 decision.

TOMMIE TIDBITS

St. Thomas had six players score in double figures for the third time this season and second time in the past three games.
Nick Janowski led the Tommies with 19 points and six rebounds. He is three rebounds shy of the program's Division I-era single-season record (154), set by Raheem Anthony in 2023-24.
Ryan Dufault set the program's Division I-era record for career games played (127), surpassing Ben Nau (2021-25). Dufault added 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting with four rebounds.
Nolan Minessale scored 10 points and is 45 shy of 1,000 for his career. He recorded five assists, tying the program's Division I single-season record of 126 set by Drake Dobbs (2024-25).
Carter Bjerke, Isaiah Johnson-Arigu and Ben Oosterbaan each scored 10 points. Bjerke hit three 3-pointers and is two shy of the program's Division I career record (188), held by Riley Miller (2021-23).
The game marked the final Summit League matchup between St. Thomas and Denver, as the Pioneers will join the West Coast Conference in 2026-27.
St. Thomas shot 55.2 percent (32-58) overall and outrebounded Denver 37-28, while holding a 46-26 advantage in points in the paint. Denver went 17-of-20 at the free-throw line compared to 8-of-20 for the Tommies.

UP NEXT
St. Thomas returns home to St. Paul, Minn., to conclude the regular season with games against 2026 Summit League regular season champion North Dakota State at 8 p.m. on Thursday before hosting Omaha at 7 p.m. on Saturday during Senior Night.

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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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Pioneers' late shot dooms Tommies in 82-80 road loss

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Team Stats

Nick Janowski

Ryan Dufault

Isaiah Johnson-Arigu

Nolan Minessale

Players Mentioned

Carter Bjerke

Jermaine Coleman

Drake Dobbs

Ryan Dufault

Nick Janowski

Isaiah Johnson-Arigu

Nolan Minessale

Ben Nau

Ben Oosterbaan

Hayden Tibbits

University of St. Thomas Athletics