Inertia

Men's Basketball

No. 4 St. Thomas uses the long ball to oust No. 5 North Dakota State

The Basics
Score: No. 4 St. Thomas 68, No. 5 North Dakota State 58
Records: St. Thomas (19-12, 9-7 SL), North Dakota State (15-16, 8-8 SL)
Location: Denny Sanford PREMIER Center - Sioux Falls, S.D
 


SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – No. 4 St. Thomas used the long ball to oust No. 5 North Dakota State 68-58 in Sunday's first quarterfinal of the Summit League Men's Basketball Tournament at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center. 

Kendall Blue led a trio of Tommies in double figures with 15 points, while Ryan Dufault and Carter Bjerke added 14 and 12 points, respectively off the bench as UST shot 50 percent from 3-point land, burying 11-of-22 from distance.

The long-range shooting helped the Tommies reach the 20-win plateau in just their third season of Division I basketball and make a second straight trip to the semifinal round in Sioux Falls. 

It was a tight contest early on as Tajavis Miller's 3-pointer with 8:32 to play pulled NDSU to within one at 19-18 but after that it was all Tommies in the first half.

Bjerke hit his third triple of the half right after Miller's trey ball to spark a 23-2 run that saw UST hit six 3-pointers in that spurt. Blue burried half of those and didn't miss in a half that saw the Tommies go 9-for-16 and shoot 56 percent from deep to take a 42-22 lead on the Bison.

NDSU, who had made five straight title-game appearances, opend the second half on a 12-0 run, holding the Tommies without a point for the opening five-plus minutes before Drake Dobbs hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

On the previous possession, Dobbs had missed all three free throws after being fouled on a long-range attempt but his triple halted NDSU's run and sparked a 14-5 spurt by the Tommies.

Ryan Dufault scored eight points during that spurt to push the Tommies' lead back to 20. 

Jacari White paced NDSU with 16 points as he went 4-for-5 from deep, while the Tommies' defense held the rest of the team to just a 3-for-13 effort.

The Tommies will play No. 1 seed South Dakota State in Monday's first semifinal at 6 p.m. CT on Midco Sports. 
 
Turning Point 
Carter Bjerke hit four first-half three pointers and his third of that batch ignited a 23-2 half-closing run that put the game out of reach for the Bison. 
 
Inside the Box Score
  • The St. Thomas bench led by Dufault (14) and Bjerke (12) outscored NDSU's 26-15.
  • Both teams shot 50 percent or better from the floor with the Tommies going 26-for-51 (51.0 percent) and Bison going 22-for-44 (50 percent).
  • The Tommies turned 13 NDSU turnovers into 26 points.
  • There were only 50 total rebounds between the two squads with UST holding a slight 26-24 edge on the glass.
News & Notes 
  • Bjerke was 11-for-15 from 3-point range in his last three games coming into the contest and went 4-for-5 in this one.  
  • NDSU was 9-1 in Summit League Tournament semifinals coming into this contest, winning each of its last five before falling to the Tommies.
  • St. Thomas is now 2-0 in Summit League Tournament quarterfinals as the Tommies have advances to the semifinals to play the top seed in each of its first two seasons of Division I postseason eligibility.
  • The Tommies win was the program's 20th of the season - they got to 19 a season ago before falling in the Summit League Tournament semifinals to eventual champion Oral Roberts.
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