Tommie secure third straight 20-win season with 92-75 victory over ORU

ST. PAUL, Minn. — St. Thomas men's basketball notched its third straight 20-win season following a 92-75 win over Oral Roberts Saturday night as Nick Janowski and Nolan Minessale each scored at least 20 points in the same game for the fifth time this season. The Tommies (20-6, 9-2 Summit League) shot over 60 percent in the second half and outscored the Golden Eagles (5-20, 0-10 Summit League) by 14 points in the second half to take the regular season head-to-head series.

FIRST HALF: Ryan Dufault opened the scoring with a driving layup to give St. Thomas its first lead, but Oral Roberts answered with a 12-2 run as the Tommies went cold, missing four straight shots and committing two turnovers over a four-minute stretch. Isaiah Johnson-Arigu snapped the drought with a dunk off a feed from Nick Janowski, and Hayden Tibbits followed with a 3-pointer from the top of the key to cut the deficit to three, 14-11.

Four minutes later, Johnson-Arigu scored on a layup before Carter Bjerke connected on his lone 3-pointer of the night to pull within one, 21-20. Johnson-Arigu's basket ignited a 16-2 St. Thomas run, highlighted by a dunk from Nolan Minessale that pushed the Tommies back in front for the first time since the opening possession. During the surge, St. Thomas shot 7-of-9 from the field while holding Oral Roberts scoreless on 10 consecutive attempts. The teams traded 3-pointers late in the half, with the Golden Eagles closing within three, but St. Thomas carried a 39-36 lead into the break behind 12 first-half points from Janowski and 10 from Johnson-Arigu.

SECOND HALF: Dufault again set the tone to start the half, scoring on a layup to spark an 8-2 run that stretched the Tommie lead to nine. After an Oral Roberts basket, St. Thomas responded with a 9-2 push to build its largest advantage to that point at 57-42. The Golden Eagles trimmed the margin with an 8-2 run and pulled within eight at the under-12 media timeout, but Johnson-Arigu steadied the Tommies with two free throws before forcing a steal that led to a fast-break layup by Minessale.

St. Thomas maintained a double-digit lead for nearly six minutes before Oral Roberts scored seven straight to apply pressure. Janowski halted the rally with a layup through contact, opening a decisive 7-0 run in which he scored six points to secure his 10th 20-point game of the season and restore full control. The Tommies held the Golden Eagles in check the rest of the way, holding ORU to 3-of-15 shooting over the final six minutes, to seal the 92-75 win.

TOMMIE TIDBITS

St. Thomas secured its third straight 20-win season, becoming the first Summit League program to do so since South Dakota State from 2017-20 and the first current league member to achieve the feat with the same head coach since Oral Roberts from 2004-05 to 2007-08.
All five of the Tommies' all-time wins against Oral Roberts have come in the past six meetings, including a sweep of the 2025-26 regular-season series.
Saturday marked St. Thomas' eighth 90-point game of the season.
St. Thomas recorded its ninth game with two 20-point scorers this season and the fifth time Nick Janowski and Nolan Minessale reached 20 points in the same game, making them one of six teammate pairings nationally with at least 10 combined 20-point games.
Minessale finished with 28 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and 11-of-14 from the free throw line. He added five rebounds and five steals. Minessale owns the nation's most 20-point games at 18 and has made at least 10 free throws for the second straight game.
Janowski scored 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting with two 3-pointers. It marks his 10th 20-point performance of the year.
Ben Oosterbaan pulled down a season-high eight rebounds, two shy of his career best.
Ryan Dufault, in the starting lineup for Austin Herro, went 4-of-4 from the field for 11 points and finished with four rebounds.

UP NEXT
St. Thomas heads on the road for its next pair of contests, first facing Omaha for the first time on Thursday, Feb. 12 followed by a trip to Kansas City on Saturday, Feb. 14.

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 --

Tommie secure third straight 20-win season with 92-75 victory over ORU

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Team Stats

Nolan Minessale

Nick Janowski

Isaiah Johnson-Arigu

Ryan Dufault

Players Mentioned

Carter Bjerke

Ryan Dufault

Austin Herro

Nick Janowski

Isaiah Johnson-Arigu

Nolan Minessale

Ben Oosterbaan

Hayden Tibbits

University of St. Thomas Athletics