Graduate forward Parker Bjorklund led scorers with 20 points, leading the St. Thomas men’s basketball team to a 73-43 rout of University of Missouri-Kansas City Saturday at Schoenecker Arena.
The Tommies (16-11, 7-7 Summit) battled to win their first game against the Roos (11-15, 7-6) in program history and got back on a positive note after a tough loss to conference-leading Oral Roberts on Thursday night.
“Kansas City is an outstanding team, and this was a really important game,” coach Johnny Tauer said. “I knew these guys would treat it with the exact same approach and they did.”
The Tommies started strong with Bjorklund scoring seven straight points, and giving an assist to first-year guard Andrew Rohde on a 3-pointer that put the Tommies up 10-0 to start the first half.
“It was a lot of fun. The shot’s been feeling good. You know when you have supportive coaches and teammates, encouraging you to shoot the ball, that obviously helps,” Bjorklund said.
Graduate guard Riley Miller knocked down a 3-pointer from range, bringing the crowd to its feet with 12 minutes to go in the first. Shortly after, first-year forward Ahjany Lee shook the arena with a slam dunk, assisted by sophomore guard Ben Nau.
The Tommies highlighted the first half by going on a 19-3 scoring run, fueled by lockdown defense that left Kansas City without a field goal for 13 minutes.
Senior forward Brooks Allen was taken to the locker room with 40 seconds to go in the first half under the aid of two staff members, but was able to walk back to the bench under his own power less than five minutes later.
“I was worried,” coach Johnny Tauer said. “To see him go down like that was certainly worrisome.”
Lee, Bjorklund, and first-year guard Kendall Blue finished the first half with four rebounds each. The Tommies took a 34-20 lead into halftime.
Allen kicked the Tommies into gear by scoring the first seven points for the Tommies in the second half, showing no sign of injury.
Lee cashed in another dunk with 12:11 to go in the second and was rewarded with a loud ovation from the crowd.
“It feels great every time. I love hearing the cheers of the fans and the energy it gives my teammates on the court and on the bench,” Lee said.
With 5:25 to go in the game and a 62-31 lead, the Tommies pulled their starters and checked in sophomore guard Drake Dobbs, junior guard Dom Martinelli, junior forward Courtney Brown Jr., and senior forward Will Engels.
The Tommies finished strong, picking up the victory in their second-to-last home game of the season.
The Tommies’ next game is at Schoenecker Arena Saturday, Feb. 18 against the Western Illinois Fighting Leathernecks at 7:00 p.m.
Karl Warner can be reached at warn5356@stthomas.edu