Senior forward Tommy Anderson led the team with 17 points, but it was not enough for No. 5 St. Thomas men’s basketball to continue its 10-game win streak. The Tommies lost 87-70 against No. 7 St. John’s Saturday at Schoenecker Arena.
The Johnnies (12-1, 8-0 MIAC) remain undefeated in conference play continuing on an 11-game win streak.
“I give a lot of credit to St. John’s,” coach John Tauer said. “They’ve got an outstanding team, and I thought they executed well today.”
The Tommies (11-2, 7-1 MIAC) have kept game win streaks of eight or more in almost every single season for the past 13 years. Tauer is in his ninth season coaching the team.
“We’ve had a lot of outstanding teams and players,” Tauer said. “I think winning streaks are just a byproduct of doing the right thing and while we never like to lose, we don’t really talk about winning or losing, we aspire to be excellent.”
Three other Tommies led the team along with Anderson, recording 12 points each: sophomore guard Anders Nelson, junior guard Ryan Lindberg and senior forward Elijah Hannah.
“I thought we had two good prep days at practice this week, and we just came out and we got punched in the mouth,” Nelson said. “We’ve got to find ways to be ready for big games like this and pretty much every other game in the regular season.”
Nelson scored a career-high 42 points in Monday’s game against Hamline and has been one of the top scorers on the team. Although he is a top scorer, Nelson remains humble about his success.
“It doesn’t mean much, to be honest. I think I get a lot of those looks as a result from my teammates,” Nelson said. “I think people know I can score, but I’m not out there trying to get mine.”
Anderson said he was “frustrated” with today’s loss, but praised the tight relationship between the team.
“This is a really close team and a team that is going to stick together,” Anderson said. “We have really big goals, and I think we’re excited to get back to work and learn from the mistakes we made today.”
The Tommies play on the road at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Carleton.
Justin Amaker can be reached at justin.amaker@stthomas.edu.