University of St. Thomas Athletics
Thursday, February 26
St. Paul, Minn.
8:00 p.m. CT
22-8,11-4Summit League
84
vs
62
North Dakota State
23-7,13-2Summit League
1
2
F
North Dakota St.
27
35
62
St. Thomas (MN)
50
34
84
Photo by: Kylie Macziewski
Complete game lifts Tommies to 84-62 win over regular season champion Bison
2/26/2026 11:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bjerke and Janowski each score 21 as St. Thomas led NDSU wire-to-wire in front of 4,708 fans
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- St. Thomas men's basketball put together a complete effort Thursday night to take down North Dakota State 84-62 in front of 4,708 fans at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena. The trio of Carter Bjerke, Nick Janowski and Nolan Minessale combined to score 59 points as the Tommies (22-8, 11-4 Summit League) led wire-to-wire against the regular season champion Bison (23-7, 13-2 Summit League).
FIRST HALF: St. Thomas set the tone early from beyond the arc, knocking down five of its first six field goals from 3-point range, including three from Carter Bjerke. His third triple gave him the program's Division I-era career record for 3-pointers set by Riley Miller (2021-23). Nick Janowski sparked a 14-3 run with a 3-pointer, part of a stretch that saw five Tommies score and pushed the lead to 15. During the surge, North Dakota State shot just 1-of-8 from the floor, including 0-of-4 from deep, and Isaiah Johnson-Arigu's driving layup made it 28-13 just before the midway point of the half.
The Tommies continued to pour it on, extending the margin to a first-half high of 23, 48-25, after connecting on 8-of-11 shots over a six-minute span. Back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers from Janowski, Minessale and Bjerke highlighted the run. Bjerke closed the half with 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting from long range, while Janowski added 12 and Minessale distributed five assists. St. Thomas shot 57.6 percent (19-of-33) overall, went 10-of-21 from 3-point range and tallied 15 assists to take a 50-27 lead into the break.
SECOND HALF: The teams traded baskets over the opening minutes, with Janowski and Minessale accounting for the Tommies' first six points. St. Thomas' defense clamped down, holding the Bison to 1-of-6 shooting to maintain a 23-point advantage at the first media timeout. Janowski's layup before the stoppage ignited a 14-3 spurt as the Tommies went a perfect 5-of-5 from the field with two more 3-pointers to push the lead past 30.
Bjerke buried his seventh 3-pointer of the night to make it 68-36, and Jermaine Coleman followed with a 3-pointer off a Janowski assist to extend the lead to a game-high 75-41 with 9:23 remaining. The Tommies maintained control the rest of the way shooting 54.2 percent (13-24) from the field and going 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
TOMMIE TIDBITS
FIRST HALF: St. Thomas set the tone early from beyond the arc, knocking down five of its first six field goals from 3-point range, including three from Carter Bjerke. His third triple gave him the program's Division I-era career record for 3-pointers set by Riley Miller (2021-23). Nick Janowski sparked a 14-3 run with a 3-pointer, part of a stretch that saw five Tommies score and pushed the lead to 15. During the surge, North Dakota State shot just 1-of-8 from the floor, including 0-of-4 from deep, and Isaiah Johnson-Arigu's driving layup made it 28-13 just before the midway point of the half.
The Tommies continued to pour it on, extending the margin to a first-half high of 23, 48-25, after connecting on 8-of-11 shots over a six-minute span. Back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers from Janowski, Minessale and Bjerke highlighted the run. Bjerke closed the half with 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting from long range, while Janowski added 12 and Minessale distributed five assists. St. Thomas shot 57.6 percent (19-of-33) overall, went 10-of-21 from 3-point range and tallied 15 assists to take a 50-27 lead into the break.
SECOND HALF: The teams traded baskets over the opening minutes, with Janowski and Minessale accounting for the Tommies' first six points. St. Thomas' defense clamped down, holding the Bison to 1-of-6 shooting to maintain a 23-point advantage at the first media timeout. Janowski's layup before the stoppage ignited a 14-3 spurt as the Tommies went a perfect 5-of-5 from the field with two more 3-pointers to push the lead past 30.
Bjerke buried his seventh 3-pointer of the night to make it 68-36, and Jermaine Coleman followed with a 3-pointer off a Janowski assist to extend the lead to a game-high 75-41 with 9:23 remaining. The Tommies maintained control the rest of the way shooting 54.2 percent (13-24) from the field and going 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
TOMMIE TIDBITS
- St. Thomas has won four of its last five meetings against North Dakota State and is averaging 77 points per game in those contests compared to 67 for the Bison.
- Carter Bjerke and Nick Janowski each scored 21 points, while Nolan Minessale added 17. It marked the 10th game this season with two Tommies scoring at least 20 points, including twice for Bjerke and Janowski who did it previously Jan. 22 during the win over South Dakota State.
- Bjerke set the program's Division I-era career 3-point record and now has 193, surpassing Riley Miller's previous mark of 188 (2021-23).
- Minessale broke the DI single-season assist record and now has 132, eclipsing Drake Dobbs' 126 (2024-25). He finished with six assists, seven rebounds and three steals and is 25 points shy of 1,000 for his career.
- Janowski tied the DI single-season record with 154 rebounds, matching Raheem Anthony from 2023-24.
- The Tommies recorded 23 assists on 32 field goals and committed just eight turnovers. It marked the 11th game this season with at least 20 assists and the 21st with 10 or fewer turnovers.
- St. Thomas shot 56.1 percent (32-57) overall and 40.0 percent (14-35) from 3-point range, while improving its nation-leading 2-point percentage to 63.9 percent.
- The defense held North Dakota State to 36.1 percent shooting overall, its lowest of the season, and 24.0 percent from 3-point range, its fifth lowest of the season.
- With a win Saturday, St. Thomas would clinch the No. 2 seed and the late Thursday game at the Summit League Tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D.
UP NEXT
St. Thomas closes out the regular season with Senior Night at 7 p.m. on Saturday against Omaha.
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 --
Team Stats
NDSU
UST
FG%
.361
.561
3FG%
.240
.400
FT%
.706
.857
RB
32
36
TO
7
8
STL
5
3
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
7
FTM
0
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
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