First-year guard Andrew Rohde and graduate guard Riley Miller’s combined 48 points were not enough as St. Thomas men’s basketball lost 88-95 against Oral Roberts Thursday at a sold-out Schoenecker Arena.
The Tommies (16-11, 7-7 Summit) fell just shy of the conference-leading Golden Eagles (22-4, 13-0 Summit) despite 10 3-pointers from the Tommie’s backcourt duo.
“It’s always good to battle with one of the top 50 teams in the country, especially with the crowd getting behind us,” Miller said. “It’s a little sour tasting right now but we’ll for sure get back very soon tomorrow in practice and then Saturday.”
The Tommies started the game with a flurry of 3-pointers led by Miller and Rohde that gave them an early 21-12 lead over the Golden Eagles. Miller attributes Rohde’s great play to his maturity that goes beyond his first-year status.
“He’s always had the talent but now he’s getting the mental side of the game and how you should compose yourself out there,” Miller said.
Coach Johnny Tauer agreed and liked what he saw from the team’s first-years in Thursday’s game. He attributed much of the team’s spark to his young players like Rohde and first-year guard Kendall Blue.
“We played our freshman I think 85 minutes tonight and when you think about the experience that they’re getting… I thought our guys handled themselves with a lot of composure and poise,” Tauer said.
St. Thomas’ lead slipped away after a 9-0 run from Oral Roberts. After first-year forward Ahjany Lee went out with an apparent injury, the Golden Eagles continued to pile on, bringing the score to 43-32 in favor of Oral Roberts.
Lee came back into the game quickly and showed that he was no worse for wear with an “and-one” dunk that put the team within 8 points. The Tommies continued to close the lead and were down 45-41 going into halftime.
“We just have a lot of trust in the game plan, whether it’s offensively or defensively,” Miller said. “Basketball is a game of runs.”
The second half gave way to more back-and-forth action between the two teams. Three quick 3-pointers from Miller put the Tommies within one point before sophomore guard Ben Nau’s 3-pointer gave them a 55-53 lead at the 15:59 mark.
St. Thomas clung to the lead or tie until Oral Roberts’ senior guard Max Abmas hit a free throw to give the Golden Eagles a lead they held onto for the rest of the game.
In spite of that, the passion that projected from the sold-out crowd sparked energy to the team, creating an environment befitting a Division I program.
“Hopefully they can bring that same energy,” Rohde said of the fans, “I’ve never seen it like that so that was crazy. To know that they’re behind us and with us every step of the way is really nice.”
“I think I haven’t seen that since the Tommie-Johnnie games, so it’s nice to kind of get that back here,” Miller said.
The Tommies next game is home at Schoenecker Arena this Saturday, Feb. 11 against the Kansas City Roos at 7:00 p.m.
“Our players are really hungry to continue to get better and build something that everybody in this state can be really proud of and come cheer for,” Tauer said. “If you were at that game, I think you’re going to want to come back and watch St. Thomas again.”
Adam Mueller can be reached at muel7541@stthomas.edu.