St Thomas Basketball win sends St. Thomas to Summit League semifinals

St thomas basketball now shifts the Summit League bracket: St. Thomas is into Saturday night’s semifinals, while South Dakota State’s season is over and will be measured by its first losing record since 2009-10. Thursday night at 11: 00 p. m. ET, St. Thomas’ 80-67 quarterfinal win locked in the Tommies’ next-round spot.

St. Thomas sets a Saturday night semifinal after 80-67 result

St. Thomas moves on after beating South Dakota State (SDSU) 80-67 in the Summit League tournament quarterfinals. The win also completed a three-win run against the Jackrabbits, after St. Thomas swept the regular-season series and then added a third win Thursday night.

Next up, St. Thomas will face either three-seed North Dakota or six-seed Denver in the semifinals. That quarterfinal matchup was scheduled for Friday night, with the winner advancing to play St. Thomas on Saturday night at around 10: 00 p. m. ET.

Ben Oosterbaan and Nolan Minessale give St. Thomas a high-scoring backcourt night

The immediate difference in the quarterfinal was St. Thomas’ production from key scorers and its shooting efficiency. Sophomore Ben Oosterbaan, who averaged 6. 9 points per game this season, scored more than 20 points for the first time in his college career. He finished with 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and 5-of-8 from three-point range.

First-team All-Summit League guard Nolan Minessale added a full stat line: 22 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from three. Nick Janowski was the only other Tommies player in double figures with 10 points.

St. Thomas’ perimeter output added up quickly. The Tommies went 12-of-27 (44%) from three-point range, which was enough to pull away for the 13-point win.

South Dakota State ends 14-18 as Bryan Petersen points to shot-making limits

The loss ends South Dakota State’s season at 14-18, the program’s first losing season since 2009-10. In Sioux Falls, the Jackrabbits opened with energy and built an early 24-17 lead midway through the first half, getting the crowd of 6, 641 engaged. Still, St. Thomas took control after halftime as SDSU missed 12 of its first 13 shots in the second half.

SDSU’s problem wasn’t effort. The Jackrabbits played hard from start to finish, got the margin back to single digits a couple times, crashed the boards, and created open looks. The issue was converting them: SDSU finished 6-of-29 from three-point range, including 2-of-19 in the second half. The shot profile also tilted further outside after the break—SDSU took 19 of its 34 second-half shots from three after attempting 10 threes in the first half (out of 29 field-goal attempts).

First-year coach Bryan Petersen described the push to attack, while acknowledging where the roster’s strengths sit. “In the second half, we were trying to find ways to get downhill, ” Petersen said. “Obviously, as the season has gone on, it’s not a huge strength of our team. Our strength is to play through the post, and obviously hit open shots when we get inside-out threes. ”

Yet the open shots did not fall on Thursday. The Jackrabbits’ season, as it ended, underscored a larger challenge: finding ways to compensate on nights when perimeter shooting isn’t working. Players including Damon Wilkinson, Joe Sayler, Kalen Garry, Jaden Jackson and Matthew Mors had stretches where they contributed during the year, with Sayler and Wilkinson noted as sophomores who could still develop further.

For St. Thomas, the quarterfinal win also marks a milestone moment: the program’s first postseason as a team eligible for the Division I NCAA Tournament. The next step is immediate and bracket-defined: a Friday-night result will set its opponent, and Saturday night’s semifinal will decide whether the Tommies advance again.

Sunday’s championship game was scheduled for around 9: 00 p. m. ET. If St. Thomas wins its Saturday night semifinal at around 10: 00 p. m. ET, it will play in that title game on Sunday night.