Led by forward Taylor Montero’s perfect night from the field, the No. 3-ranked St. Thomas men’s basketball team won its home and conference opener 92-64 against Concordia-Moorhead Wednesday at Schoenecker Arena.

Montero went an astounding 6-for-6 from the field while going 4-for-4 from three-point range. The senior finished the night with 17 points to help his team improve to 4-0 this season. Montero kept things in perspective, shunning personal accolades in favor of a team victory.

“It always feels good not to miss, but I feel better about getting the first win at home,” Montero said.

The Tommies (4-0 overall, 1-0 MIAC) and Cobbers (3-3 overall, 0-1 MIAC) seemed to be evenly matched for most of the first half as neither team could really take control of the game. However, free throws proved to be the difference for St. Thomas. The Tommies went a perfect 11-for-11 from the line while the Cobbers didn’t ever get a chance at a free point. St. Thomas went to the locker room up 41-31 at the half.

St. Thomas came out with new fire in the second half and started to run away with seven three-pointers. The lead became solid enough for coach John Tauer to totally empty his bench and give younger players some solid playing time.

Forward Ryan Saarela led the team in scoring with 20 points while shooting 70 percent from the field and going 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. He noted the difference in play in the second half.

“We played well together. I think the second half, we came out with more energy and kind of buried them,” he said.

Tauer, now in his fifth year at the helm, gained his 102nd career win for the Tommies with the victory. He was pleased with the overall effort of his team.

“I liked our energy. I thought our rebounding and our loose ball pursuit was a little subpar in the first half, but other than that, I loved our guys’ effort,” Tauer said.

St. Thomas moved up to 3rd in the latest d3hoops.com poll and is expected to win its 11th consecutive MIAC championship in the conference preseason poll.

Tauer thinks his team has a long way to go but has tremendous potential.

“The season is young, and we talk about a process of ongoing improvement, that we’re trying to get a little bit better everyday, and we’re trying to pursue excellence,” Tauer said. “I love that these guys are committed to that. We’re nowhere where we need to be, but we’re moving there as a team.”

St. Thomas plays Carleton at home on Saturday.

Jack Burke can be reached at jtburke@stthomas.edu.