Graduate guard Raheem Anthony’s 23 points helped the St. Thomas men’s basketball team to defeat UW-Milwaukee 75-71 Wednesday at Schoenecker Arena, but he had so much more to celebrate.
The Tommies (5-4) beating the Panthers (3-6, 0-1 Horizon) was the cherry on top for a milestone now five years in the making for Anthony. With just under six minutes left in the first half, he swished a free throw to give him his 1,500th career point. The moment brought back memories from the beginning of his college career.
“It’s a great moment. I’m kind of now reflecting on my first year as a basketball player in college when I was a freshman at St. Mary’s,” Anthony said. “And now to be here, it’s special for me.”
Before transferring to St. Thomas for his graduate year, Anthony spent four years playing at St. Mary’s University, a former conference opponent of the Tommies in the MIAC.
“I did what I had to do at St. Mary’s. I’m blessed to have another year of basketball to play, and I entered the portal with a lot of schools interested and I’m glad I chose the Tommies,” Anthony said.
Coach Johnny Tauer recognizes that Anthony’s unconventional path to Division I basketball fits right in with the story of St. Thomas. His current teammates saw him scorch the Tommies for 28 points in his first season at Saint Mary’s.
“When he was playing here, Brooks (Allen) was on the bench and not playing on that team, and Parker (Bjorklund) was in the stands cheering,” Tauer said. “What are the odds that those three guys would be out on a court playing Division I basketball together? It’s pretty amazing.”
Anthony’s scoring paired with Bjorklund’s 15-point outing powered the Tommies on a night when their three-point shot just wouldn’t fall. Milwaukee’s opponents averaged 43% from beyond the arc, but St. Thomas only managed to connect on 24%.
Tauer was disappointed with the shooting performance but found relief that his team was actively seeking those open shots, even if they weren’t going in.
“We’re not shooting the ball maybe as efficiently as we have, but I think we have a number of really good shooters and I love the fact that we’re getting more threes up,” Tauer said.
Anthony’s scoring landmark wasn’t the only event honored on Wednesday. Tauer returned from the Tommies’ five-game road stretch with 250 career wins under his belt. The crowning victory came against Portland State on Nov. 19 during a tournament hosted by California Baptist University.
Tauer reflected on the relevance of these wins and put the emphasis on a part of his career he felt was more important.
“I feel very fortunate and blessed and appreciate all the kind wishes,” Tauer said. “The numbers, at the end of the day, those don’t matter a lot, but the people who have been there along the way are really really special.”
Tauer is the third coach to reach 250 wins at St. Thomas, creating a unique lineage that goes back to the 1970-71 season. Tauer played for coach Steve Fritz when he won his 250th game, and Fritz was a senior on coach Tom Feely’s squad when he reached the milestone.
When asked if they could be next in line, Anthony and senior guard Drake Dobbs shared a laugh.
“Who knows what the future holds, we’ll see,” Dobbs said.
Milwaukee was missing star junior guard BJ Freeman who has been averaging 19.5 points for them this season. Even without him, the Panthers were set on spoiling the celebrations.
The Tommies led by 20 points six minutes into the second half, but the Panthers slowly chipped away at the lead bringing it to just 70-66 with under two minutes left to play.
The Panthers played aggressively to get the ball back, but went over the foul allotment and put the Tommies in double bonus. A series of free throws put the Tommies out of reach even with junior guard Erik Pratt connecting on a last-second heave.
“I thought we had to dig down and make big plays on both ends in the last two minutes or so, and our guys did that,” Tauer said. “That’s, I think, the mark of a really good team.”
The Tommies will travel to Anthony’s home city of Chicago, Illinois to take on Chicago State at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 10 at Credit Union 1 Arena.
“It’s going to be great to be back home on Sunday against Chicago State,” Anthony said. “This one’s going to be pretty packed, a lot of people from my home, so it will be fun.”
Adam Mueller can be reached at muel7541@stthomas.edu.