Johnny Tauer has led the St. Thomas men’s basketball team since 2011. Prior to that he served as an assistant coach for 11 years after playing for the Tommies in 1990s and has had more than his share of memorable experiences with the program.

Saturday night he joined a sold-out crowd of 5,325 in reveling in the team’s debut at the Lee and Penny Anderson Arena.

“What a magical night,” Tauer said. “It seems surreal in a way after all that has gone into it. I think this building is as beautiful as any in college basketball.

“There aren’t many things after 26 years in coaching that you haven’t seen. I flash back to being a 6-year-old kid with my dad, not going to the old gym, but the other old gym at O’Shaughnessy Hall.

“To look at where this university has come and where we’re headed is just so inspiring.”

The Tommies, who opened the season with a 84-58 loss at Saint Mary’s on Monday, enjoyed a 21-point lead over Army in the first half and responded to a couple of mini runs by the Black Knights in an 83-76 victory.

Nolan Minessale led the Tommies with 20 points. Nick Janowski had 16, Carter Bjerke 12 and Isaiah Johnson-Arigu 11.

The choice of the Black Knights as the Tommies’ first opponent in their new arena had special significance. Lee Anderson, a graduate of West Point, where he was a member of the basketball team, has long been a financial supporter of both institutions.

The Black Knights play in Christl Arena, named after Minneapolis native Edward Christl, who attended St. Thomas before entering the United States Military Academy in 1941. Christl was killed in action in 1945 and is buried at West Point Cemetery.

The Andersons were saluted in a pregame ceremony and took part in a ceremonial opening tip after being greeted by Tauer at center court.

The Tommies led 8-6 before going on a 24-5 run to take a 32-11 lead with eight minutes to play in the first half, leading Army coach Kevin Kuwait to take a timeout.

The Black Knights then went on a run of their own, cutting the Tommies’ lead to 34-20. The teams played even the remainder of the first half, with the Tommies taking a 44-29 lead into the locker room.

Army cut the Tommies’ lead to 53-46, as close as it had been since the game was eight minutes old. But a couple of driving baskets by Johnson-Arigu got the Tommies started on an 8-2 run that built their lead back up to 13.

A Minessale basket with just under three minutes to play that gave the Tommies a 73-59 lead all but sealed the victory.

The Tommies are back on the road Monday night when they play Washington State before returning to Anderson Arena on Thursday to play Green Bay.

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Lakeville South conquered Class 4A again.

The Cougars won their second consecutive state volleyball championship on Saturday night at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul with a sweep of third-seeded Prior Lake.

Crucial contributions from senior outside hitter Romi Chlebecek and junior setter Kaelyn Bjorklund lifted Lakeville South to the summit. Chlebecek paced the Cougars with 17 kills and Bjorklund quarterbacked the offense with a match-high 39 assists.

The Cougars climbed to the top of the mountain for the first time in program history last season with a five-set win over Champlin Park. A year later, Lakeville South returned to St. Paul with its sights set on a repeat state title — one that ended quicker this time with the Cougars winning 25-17,  25-15, 25-19.

It was longer journey to Grand Casino Arena for Prior Lake, which had not made the state tournament since 2017.

The first set lived up to the billing as the Cougars and Lakers traded leads. Lakeville South created separation midway through the set with a 15-12 advantage after Chlebecek blasted a ball through Prior Lake’s block.

Lakeville South’s 7-0 scoring run, after being knotted at 12, ballooned its lead, and the Cougars never looked back. It was a commanding Set 1 win, thanks to Chlebecek’s seven kills and the Lakers’ lackluster offense, hitting just .028.

It was more of the same in the second set as Cougars junior outside hitter Elleora Utecht’s third kill of the frame put Lakeville South up 8-3 and forced a Lakers timeout.

Bjorklund’s cross-court swing helped Lakeville South double up Prior Lake 18-9 further strengthening the Cougars’ grip on the state title match. The two-match advantage was the same they held a year ago against the Rebels.

Hints of a third-set letdown crept to the forefront as Prior Lake jumped out to an 8-2 lead out of the gates. Lakers senior libero Sidney Burley’s service ace gave Prior Lake its largest lead of the night at six points.

The Cougars came crawling back, tying the match at 13 before a service ace by freshman outside hitter Kate Utecht gave Lakeville South its first lead of the third set.

One glimpse of daylight in Set 3 was all it took for the Cougars to kick it into second gear. Lakeville South wrapped up its title on a 12-5 run.

Apple Valley beat Roseville in four sets in the third-place match. Ginny Gores had 17 kills for Apple Valley, while Sophia Cowan added 16.

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Crucial mistakes undid the Cretin-Derham Hall football team Saturday, leading to a 23-19 loss to Chanhassen in a Class 5A quarterfinal at Osseo High School. The third-seeded Raiders (7-4) were stopped at the same stage last year after winning their first section title since 2017.

Chanhassen lineman Owen Linder — a 6-foot-5, 280-pound behemoth who’s committed to play at Iowa next season — blocked a Cretin-Derham Hall point-after kick attempt two minutes before halftime. That play loomed large when the Raiders scored with 5:34 remaining in the game to pull within 21-19.

Raiders quarterback Izaak Johnson scrambled right and threw back left on the ensuing 2-point try, but the pass fell incomplete. Johnson said he was forced to his third read on the play.

“My tight end (Dre Frierson-Hollie) ran a delayed cross on the back side,” said Johnson, who completed 23 of 34 pass attempts for 273 yards and two touchdowns and had a toss intercepted. “I tried to give him a chance, but I had pressure in my face when I threw.”

Second-seeded Chanhassen drove 67 yards to the Cretin-Derham Hall 2-yard line and took a knee with a minute remaining. The Storm attempted to do the same thing on the next play, but quarterback Nathan Ramler couldn’t handle the snap and the Raiders recovered at their own 4 with 32 seconds on the scoreboard.

Two plays later, however, Johnson was sacked for a safety and Chanhassen (10-1) advanced to next week’s semifinals at U.S. Bank Stadium to play St. Thomas Academy, a 21-14 victor Saturday over Rochester Mayo.

Cretin-Derham Hall was also hurt late in the first half when Elias Brasel made an ill-advised attempt to handle a rolling ball off the foot of Chanhassen’s punter. The Storm recovered at the Raiders’ 5-yard line and Ramler’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Kade Bush a play later led to a 7-all tie.

Cretin-Derham Hall couldn’t convert a fake field-goal attempt midway through the second quarter and Johnson had a pass intercepted by Logan Smith with 18 seconds remaining in the first half.

After a nice return on that play, the Storm set up at the Raiders’ 37 and Ramler ran for a 1-yard touchdown five seconds before intermission. Michael McDowell’s extra point gave Chanhassen a 14-13 lead at the break and it never again trailed.

“One of the points of emphasis for today was to avoid self-inflicted errors,” first-year Cretin-Derham Hall coach Kim Royston said.

Raiders tailback Ja’Dale Thompson, who could manage only 55 yards in 12 carries, added: “We came back out in the second half with energy, and we were communicating instead of arguing. We could have come back, but we did it a little too late.”

Cretin-Derham Hall drove 67 yards in five plays and opened the scoring when Johnson threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Frierson-Hollie five minutes into the contest. The Raiders’ muffed punt return to the Storm’s tying effort at 7-all.

Cretin-Derham Hall marched 94 yards in 11 plays and went up 13-7 on Johnson’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Owen Welk with two minutes remaining in the second quarter. Linder blocked the extra-point kick attempt and although the Storm punted on its next possession, it soon intercepted Johnson’s pass and scored seconds before halftime.

Chanhassen went up 20-13 midway through the third quarter on a 1-yard Ramler run and a McDowell extra point.

Cretin-Derham Hall turned the ball over on downs at the Storm’s 8 on its next possession but scored the following time it had the ball, this time when Johnson hit Frierson-Hollie for an 11-yard touchdown. The Raiders couldn’t convert on their 2-point pass attempt, effectively ending their season.

Frierson-Hollie caught four passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Chanhassen’s Ramler completed 18 of 26 pass attempts for 218 yards and a touchdown to Bush, who hauled in seven tosses for 80 yards.

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When the Seattle Sounders beat Minnesota United in the 2020 Western Conference final, it was a slow and painful death for the Loons, giving up two goals in the final minutes to lose 3-2.

In Saturday’s decisive Game 3 of their first-round series, Seattle scored two goals in the opening eight minutes, and Minnesota looked dead just after arrival.

The Loons rallied from a two-goal deficit, while going down to 10 men, with three unanswered goals.

While Seattle scored a late equalizer, it was Minnesota that delivered the final blow after 10 rounds of penalty kicks. In the final round, Loons goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair buried his PK, while Sounders ‘keeper Andrew Thomas put his off the cross bar, and Minnesota won 7-6 at Allianz Field.

The Loons will play the winner of the San Diego-Portland series in the Western Conference semifinals on Nov. 22 or 23.

The Loons edged Seattle 3-2 in PKs to capture Game 1 on Oct. 27, while Seattle rollicked to a 4-2 win in Game 2 on Monday.

On Saturday, Loons left wing back Anthony Markanich got his head on the end of a Joaquín Pereyra corner kick for United to take a 3-2 lead in the 71st minute. That lasted for 18 minutes until Jordan Morris scored off a Sounders corner kick in the 88th.

Down 2-0, Minnesota got a lifeline from an outstanding free kick goal from Joaquín Pereyra. The Argentine midfielder had a quiet start to the series, but he provided a stunning strike from 29 yards to make it 2-1 in the 19th minute.

The uphill climb grew steeper in the 41st minute when Joseph Rosales drew a head card for contact to Jesús Ferreira in the 41st minute. Rosales kicked out at a passing Ferreira and then got in his face, leaning out with his forehead, making contact with Ferreira, who went down to the turf.

Loons head coach Eric Ramsay screamed in reaction on the sideline as Minnesota went down to 10 men for the final 60 minutes.

Minnesota got its equalizing goal from Jefferson Díaz on a back-post header in the 62nd minute. The Colombian center back had not scored across 36 regular-season games since joining Minnesota in 2024.

Loons center backs Jefferson Diaz and Morris Duggan were woeful on the Sounders’ first-half goals. Diaz let himself get pulled wide by a Ferriera run, which opened up the space Albert Rusnak needed to score in the fifth minute.

Duggan then whiffed on a clearance attempt, and it bounced right to Danny Musovski to finish in the eighth minute.

After getting beat down the left side in Games 1 and 2, Ramsay switched from Anthony Markanich at wingback and Nico Romero at center back, going with Rosales and Duggan.

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