Point guard Grant Shaeffer’s six assists and nine points were more than enough to help the No. 6-ranked St. Thomas men’s basketball team (5-1 overall, 2-1 MIAC) overcome the Macalester Scots (2-6 overall, 0-3 MIAC) 78-53 Wednesday night at Schoenecker Arena.

Both teams played sloppy in the first half and committed a combined 11 turnovers. The Tommie defense prevailed, making the Scots turn the ball over six times and holding them to just over 30 percent shooting from the field in the first half. The teams went into the half with St. Thomas leading 36-21. St. Thomas then came out in the second with a 9-0 run and never looked back.

St. Thomas was coming off a devastating buzzer-beating loss to conference opponent Carleton on Saturday. Coach John Tauer was pleased his team was able to bounce back and gave credit to a balanced attack and good guard play for the win.

“I think it was a balanced scoring effort. I think really the thing I was most pleased about is I thought we were more diligent about working the ball into the post. I think that really starts with our guards,” Tauer said. “Grant (Shaeffer) having six assists and one turnover tonight, that’s the kind of performance we need.”

Forward Taylor Montero, who finished with 11 points, was also quick to give credit to his teammate.

“We played with a lot more energy,” he said. “We picked up the tempo; we shared the ball. Our point guard Grant Shaeffer had six assists tonight. It’s great when your point guard is passing people the ball.”

Shaeffer was actually held scoreless in the entire first half, but the floor general wasn’t frustrated by the fact.

“If my points come, then they come. If not, it’s my job to distribute,” Shaeffer said. “There’ll be games where we do need me to score, but if not, I’m perfectly happy distributing.”

St. Thomas outrebounded Macalester 44-27, and 11 players scored points on the night. The bench was credited with 35 of the team’s points.

Tauer said he’s making this a point of emphasis for his team.

“More than anything, we’re trying to get deeper and trying to get quicker rotations, so that’s just a function of us trying to play,” Tauer said. “We’re trying to play a deep bench and develop that as the team goes along.”

One of the bench players who stepped up for the Tommies was guard Jacob Hansen. The freshman came into the game early to replace Shaeffer and ended up hitting four 3-pointers to give him a team-high 12 points.

The Tommies have some tough tests ahead of them with finals approaching and two battles against WIAC conference opponents. The team plays rival Wisconsin-River Falls on Saturday and then 2015 national champion Wisconsin-Stevens Point next Tuesday.

Tauer said the upcoming tests are a great challenge for the team.

“Those two games in the next week as we move into final exams (is) a big time for our guys, and we’re trying to get a little bit better everyday as we move towards our ultimate vision.”

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