The Basics
Score: No. 2 St. Thomas 80, No. 7 South Dakota State 67
Records: St. Thomas (24-8, 12-4 SL), South Dakota State (14-18, 7-9 SL)
Location: Denny Sanford PREMIER Center - Sioux Falls, S.D.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – No. 2 seed St. Thomas overcame an early deficit to pull away from No. 7 seed South Dakota State 80-67 in the quarterfinals of the Summit League Men’s Basketball Championship at the Denny Sanford Premier Center.

A pair of sophomores paced the Tommies as forward Ben Oosterbaan scored a career-high 23 points, hitting 5-of-8 attempts from the 3-point line, while guard Nolan Minessale added 22 points to go along with eight rebounds, six assists and two blocks.

The Tommies trailed most of the first half - and by as many as seven points - and wound up leading by as many as 14 in the second half. One reason for the swing: Points off turnovers. St. Thomas finished with a 21-2 edge in that category.

Three-point shooting was also key in the decision. St. Thomas made 12-of-27 from 3-point range and SDSU finished 6-of-29, including making just two on 19 attempts in the second half.

Three Jackrabbits scored in double figures: Jaden Jackson put up 16 points, Joe Sayler had 13 and Damon Wilkinson finished with 13 to go along with five rebounds.

St. Thomas will play No. 3 seed North Dakota or No. 6 Denver in the second men’s semifinal Saturday night.

Turning Point
The game was tied at 39-all early in the second half but the Tommies went on a 12-2 run over the next 5-plus minutes, holding SDSU without a field goal during that stretch to take the lead for good.

Inside the Box Score 

• SDSU finished with a 34-22 edge in rebounds, including a 14-4 advantage on the offensive glass.
• St. Thomas limited SDSU to 2-of-17 shooting from the 3-point line in the second half. The Jacks were 4 of 10 from deep in first half.
• The Tommies have won four quarterfinal games in a row.

News & Notes

• The Tommies are eligible to play in the NCAA Division I postseason this year for the first time, having completed their reclassification from the Division III level.
• St. Thomas is now 4-for-4 in advancing to the tournament semifinals and made the program's first title-game appearance a season ago.
• SDSU drops to 13-5 all-time in Summit League quarterfinal contests. The Jackrabbits have won the tournament seven times - most among active conference members but dropped quarterfinal games in each of the past two seasons.

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