A matchup against a perennial Summit League power, a national cable television audience, and a sold-out crowd that included Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch and team president Tim Connelly.
There were a lot of reasons for St. Thomas freshman guard Nolan Minessale and his teammates to be excited Sunday afternoon, but the Tommies managed to keep their emotions in check and focus on the task at hand.
That composure paid off as St. Thomas jumped in front of North Dakota State early and never looked back, cruising to a 79-62 victory at Schoenecker Arena.
“There was a lot of hype around this game, but we went in with the mindset that every game is a big game for us,” said Minesalle, a graduate of Milwaukee’s Marquette University High School, who led St. Thomas with 23 points Sunday.
“We came out with a lot of energy, and that was the spark right away.”
The Tommies did indeed come out of the gates quickly, racing to a 24-8 lead with 11:50 to play in the first half. St. Thomas began the game 5 for 10 from behind the 3-point line, led by two from junior guard Kendall Blue.
NDSU, meanwhile, started just 2 for 8 (25 percent) from the field and turned the ball over four times, setting the stage for an afternoon when the Bison turned the ball over 15 times in all.
“Being in gaps early, rebounding and limiting them to one shot on each possession – I thought we did a good job of all that (Sunday),” said Blue, an East Ridge High School graduate who finished with 20 points.
The Tommies increased their lead to 45-26 at halftime, and to as much as 22 early in the second half. The Bison (16-8 overall, 5-4 Summit) did cut the gap to as little as 11 on a 3-pointer by junior guard Tajavis Miller with 3:02 remaining.
But that was as close as NDSU got.
“They played with great spirit and a lot of fire,” Bison coach David Richman said. “It was a tremendous atmosphere, and I think they got behind that.
“For lack of a better term, they overwhelmed us.”
With the victory, St. Thomas (18-6, 8-1 Summit) pulls back into a first-place tie with Omaha (14-10, 8-1 Summit) atop the conference standings. The Mavericks dealt the Tommies their only conference loss of the season, winning 89-78 on Jan. 23 in Omaha.
The two teams are scheduled to clash again on Feb. 15 in St. Paul.
“I don’t think we look at the standings much because then you’re worrying about things you can’t control,” said Tommies head coach Johnny Tauer, whose team is still in just its fourth season at the Division I level.
“But certainly, if you’d asked us three years ago where do you think you’re going to be, I don’t know that anybody would have predicted this. In the preseason, there were about 40 votes cast, and not one of them picked St. Thomas to win the conference. I don’t blame people, and we don’t use that as motivation. I just think this team is really good about taking it one game at a time.”
That approach proved successful Sunday in an atmosphere Tauer called electric.
“When you show up 90 minutes before the game, and there are students lined up outside the arena, I don’t remember that happening before,” said Tauer, whose team picked up its 15th straight home victory. “I think in some ways, this was sort of the culmination of what we’ve been trying to build.
“It’s certainly not an end point, but it’s one of those markers.”
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