Graduate guard Riley Miller posted 24 points in the St. Thomas men’s basketball team’s 91-56 victory over Crown College in a non-conference matchup Saturday at Schoenecker Arena.
The Tommies (7-3, 0-0 Summit) outshot the Polars (4-3, 0-0 UMAC) and never lost their lead after two quick baskets from Miller and first-year guard Andrew Rohde.
“Itwas a good home win, and we’re thrilled to be 7-3 at this point in the season,” coach John Tauer said.
Miller, who had shot 46% from three-point range this season, shot 4/5 from beyond the arc in the first seven minutes . He accredited team play from Rhode as the reason he shot so well from the start.
“This guy (Rhode) is getting me open, so it’s easier to shoot,” Miller said.
Miller shot 16 three-pointers throughout the game, sinking seven of them for 24 points. He found holes in Crown’s defense and exploited them for open looks.
“It’s been hard for me to get threes off lately, so to get 16 off was a very nice feeling, even if sometimes you’ve gotta shoot them a couple feet back just to get them off,” Miller said. “They play kind of a unique zone, so I knew I was going to be able to find my spots, and I just had to be smart about it.”
Rhode kept pace with the more experienced Miller offensively, finishing the game with 18 points on 14 shots.
“I haven’t been making my threes as much as I should have,” Rhode said, “but every time I missed one, they say ‘keep shooting’ and ‘keep your head up,’ which is always good to hear. Obviously, my coaches are giving me confidence too.”
Miller, being a veteran player, liked seeing accountability and confidence building from the first-years to the graduate students.
“It goes both ways,” Miller said. “I can hold these guys accountable and then even the freshman. I’ll take it sometimes, too, because I’m not a perfect player.”
Tauer praised his team’s defense, as the Tommies held Crown to just 34% from the field and 20% from three-point range.
“I was pretty pleased, and defensively, I thought we had played really soundly,” Tauer said.
His players agreed with him and believed their defensive game plan and their willingness to communicate as a team worked as expected.
“I think we switched a lot and denied a lot just to make them make a play and muck it up for them,” Miller said. “It was a lot of our defensive game plan that allowed us to do that.”
Understanding the adversity the team will face in the coming weeks, Tauer believes the players are ready for it. He said he hopes their strong connection and bond can carry them through finals and into conference play as they begin to see tougher opponents.
“I just think these guys are really coming together as a team,” Tauer said. “It’s also final exams and so they’ve got a lot to juggle and I think that’s a big part of our emphasis the past week: making sure that they’re focused on school as that is their number one priority at St. Thomas, and then making sure they’re locked in at basketball.
St. Thomas will continue the non-conference portion of its season in Bozeman, Montana, against Montana State at 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8 at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.
Adam Mueller can be reached at muel7541@stthomas.edu.