Graduate forward Parker Bjorklund returned for his first game since Nov. 19 and knocked down 8 of 8 free throws, ending the night with 16 points in 15 minutes as the St. Thomas men’s basketball team beat Green Bay 82-61 Tuesday at Schoenecker Arena.
Bjorklund’s season-high 16 points came just behind graduate guard Riley Miller’s team-high 19. The pair led the Tommies (9-4, 0-0 Summit) past the Phoenix (2-9, 0-0 Horizon) in St. Thomas’ final non-conference game of the regular season.
“Taking time off is obviously really hard,” Bjorklund said. “It really makes you realize how much you love the game when you’re not out there.
The Tommies came out swinging in the first half, jumping to an 11-4 lead just under 3:30 into the game. St. Thomas’ lead never shrank below four in the first half.
“The first half, we were focused,” coach Johnny Tauer said. “Defensively, I thought we executed really, really well.”
St. Thomas was locked in, shooting 51% from FG range, 46% from behind the arc and 80% from the free throw line.
“If you’re going to take good shots over the course of the game, it’s going to work in your favor,” Miller said. “Mentally, you always have to be ready to shoot.”
With a 42-24 lead at halftime, the Tommies started the second half slow, scoring only four points in five minutes and watched their lead shrink to eight.
“We had a little lull in the first six to eight minutes of the second half,” Tauer said, “but we picked it back up.”
The Tommies got back into a comfortable double-digit lead around the 12-minute mark. By the end of the game, all but three Tommies on the roster had put points on the board.
“I thought all the guys off the bench really provided, not just a spark, but some of it’s intangible, and it doesn’t show up on the stat sheet,” Tauer said. “I thought it was a really good team win.”
With Bjorklund back and junior forward Courtney Brown Jr. shaking off nagging injuries, the Tommies have versatile depth up and down the roster; something exceedingly important going into conference play.
“We’re going to try to put out the best lineup,” Tauer said. “I think these guys all trust they’re going to get lots of opportunities over the course of the season.”
After being ranked eighth in the Summit League preseason poll, the Tommies look forward to conference action.
“We’re hungry. We don’t back down on anyone,” Bjorklund said, “no matter who we’re playing.”
The Tommies open conference play against North Dakota on Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul.
“Every game is a Super Bowl for us,” Miller said. “We can’t play in the NCAA tournament, so we might as well go in with the underdog mentality every single game.”
Sam Larson can be reached at lars4378@stthomas.edu