Historic night in Brookings as Tommies topple Jackrabbits, 77-62

BROOKINGS, S.D. — Guards Nick Janowski and Nolan Minessale powered St. Thomas men's basketball to a historic road win Wednesday night, combining for 49 points to lead the Tommies past South Dakota State in Brookings, S.D., for the program's first Division I-era victory at First Bank & Trust Arena. The Tommies (19-6, 8-2 Summit League) handed the Jackrabbits (11-13, 4-5 Summit League) their largest home loss since 2008 to complete a regular season series sweep.

FIRST HALF: Both teams labored to find an early offensive rhythm until Nick Janowski knocked down the game's first field goal, a 3-pointer at the 17:17 mark. He followed with another make a minute later, but South Dakota State responded with an 8-0 run to seize a 12-5 advantage, holding St. Thomas without a field goal on four straight attempts. Ben Oosterbaan stopped the skid with a 3-pointer, and three minutes later Janowski buried another triple to spark an 8-0 Tommie run.

Isaiah Johnson-Arigu capped the surge with a layup and a 3-pointer for an 18-16 lead, which grew to five on a fast-break dunk by Jermaine Coleman off a lead pass from Nolan Minessale. After SDSU answered with two scores in the paint, Oosterbaan and Janowski connected from deep again to push St. Thomas to a first-half-high seven-point edge, 31-24, with four minutes remaining. The Tommies missed their final six shots from the floor but carried a 31-28 lead into halftime, attempting 26 of their 35 first-half field goals from beyond the arc while holding the Jackrabbits to 2-of-14 shooting on 3-pointers.

SECOND HALF: Following a Janowski 3-pointer off a South Dakota State turnover to make it 43-40, St. Thomas delivered the decisive stretch of the night with a 17-0 run, tying its largest scoring run of the season. The Tommies went a perfect 6-for-6 from the field during the run, opening with a 5-0 burst from Hayden Tibbits and getting nine points from Minessale, while limiting SDSU to 0-for-4 shooting and forcing three turnovers.

After a Jackrabbit layup, Janowski scored on back-to-back layups to extend the margin to a game-high 20, 64-44, with 7:27 to play. South Dakota State answered with a 12-2 run to pull within 10, but 3-pointers from Minessale and Tibbits restored separation. Minessale sealed the win at the free-throw line, going 5-of-6 late and finishing with 26 points, including 22 in the second half, as St. Thomas closed out its first Division I era win in Brookings. The Tommies shot 71.4 percent in the second half and 6-of-9 from 3-point range, offsetting SDSU's 52.0 percent shooting while holding the Jackrabbits to 3-of-13 from deep.

TOMMIE TIDBITS

St. Thomas earned its first win in Brookings during the Division I era and its first victory at South Dakota State since the 1954-55 season, giving the Tommies road wins at every opposing Summit League program.
It's been 6,551 days since South Dakota State lost at home by 15 or more points, last taking a 15-point loss to Oral Roberts, 67-52, on Feb. 28, 2008.
The Tommies secured wins at both South Dakota State and South Dakota in the same season, becoming one of three Summit League teams to accomplish the feat since 2021-22, joining North Dakota State (2024-25) and Oral Roberts (2022-23).
St. Thomas' 71.4 percent shooting in the second half marked its second-highest shooting half of the season. The Tommies have shot at least 60 percent in a half eight times this year and are 7-0 in those games.
UST committed a season-low five turnovers, its fewest since also giving away five against North Dakota State on Feb. 2, 2026, resulting in just five SDSU points. St. Thomas has turned the ball over fewer than 10 times in 18 games this season and is 15-3 when winning the turnover battle.
St. Thomas held its opponent to 30 or fewer points in the first half for the second straight game, the first two instances of its Summit League schedule, and for the seventh time this season.
Nolan Minessale led all scorers with 26 points, including 22 in the second half, while Nick Janowski added 23 points with five 3-pointers. The duo has reached 20 points in the same game four times this season and is one of 10 teammate pairings nationally with at least nine 20-point games.
Ben Oosterbaan scored eight points, six in the first half, and recorded three steals.
Hayden Tibbits led the bench with eight points, all coming in the second half.

UP NEXT
St. Thomas returns to St. Paul, Minn., on Saturday, Feb. 7 to host Oral Roberts during its annual Alumni Night with a 7 p.m. tip-off at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena.

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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Historic night in Brookings as Tommies topple Jackrabbits, 77-62

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Team Stats

Nolan Minessale

Nick Janowski

Hayden Tibbits

Ben Oosterbaan

Players Mentioned

Jermaine Coleman

Nick Janowski

Isaiah Johnson-Arigu

Nolan Minessale

Ben Oosterbaan

Hayden Tibbits

University of St. Thomas Athletics