St. Thomas men’s basketball fell to South Dakota 59-49 in the Summit League semifinals in Sioux Falls Monday night, ending the Tommies’ postseason run.
The No. 5 Tommies reached 20 wins for the first time in the Division I era before falling short of the conference championship game. St. Thomas has reached the Summit League semifinals in their first two seasons competing in the tournament, a key part of the team’s bigger story surrounding their transition from Division III.
“I’m biased but I think it’s one of the most incredible stories in the country. It’s unprecedented for a reason,” coach Johnny Tauer said.
Although they played a quieter role in tournament games this season, two graduate players earned All-Summit League second team honors. Graduate Student and forward Parker Bjorklund garnered his second nod in a row and graduate guard Raheem Anthony was also named to the All-Newcomer team.
Bjorklund averaged a team-high 13.2 points per game as well as 4.6 rebounds per game. This season, he became the first Tommie to reach 1,000 career points in Division I, and he sits at 1,210 all-time right behind Tauer.
“I’m so blessed to be part of this journey and I wouldn’t want to be part of any other team,” Bjorklund said.
Anthony completed his final season at St. Thomas after playing four seasons for St. Mary’s University in Winona. He averaged 11.9 points and was the team leader in rebounds, assists and steals for the Tommies. He ended his career with 1,790 points in total after adding seven against South Dakota State.
“He was just a real joy and I wish we had him for more than one year, but he’s meant a lot to this team,” Tauer said. “And how close he got to the guys in just nine months is pretty incredible.”
The third graduate who finished his career on Monday night was forward Brooks Allen, who added 11 points and four rebounds. Allen has been at St. Thomas since 2019 and played all 96 games of the D-I era so far.
“Our culture has always been rock solid from when I was an 18-year-old freshman walking into a Division III locker room to now,” Allen said.
Four seniors have also joined their journey, many transferring in at different points along the way. Forwards Bennett Kwiecinski and Courtney Brown Jr., and guards Dom Martielli and Drake Dobbs have all been a part of the past few seasons.
Dobbs averaged 9.5 points and 2.5 assists while maintaining a team-high 3.28 assist/turnover ratio. He also regularly defended the toughest matchup during their games this season, making him a key two-way player.
“Drake Dobbs, who has another year of eligibility, so hopefully he’s back in purple,” Tauer said.
Guards Ben Nau and Ryan Dufault anchor the junior class and have been difference-makers for St. Thomas in the back half of the season. Dufault had four points and Nau had none in their twelve minutes each of playing time tonight, but the two are key returners for next season.
Dufault typically acted as Dobbs’ substitute to give him a break while guarding top players but also scored 14 points in the Tommies’ quarterfinal win over North Dakota State Sunday night.
Sophomore guard Kendall Blue led St. Thomas in scoring their two games in the Summit League tournament and shot over 63% across both.
Redshirt first-year Carter Bjerke didn’t connect on his three three-point attempts against the Jackrabbits but went 4-5 from distance in the quarterfinals. He led the Tommies with 45.6% beyond the arc on 103 shots.
“We’ve got young guys that are going to carry on that level of excellence and I’m excited to watch them grow,” Allen said.
St. Thomas ended their historic season with the top defense in the Summit League. They held conference opponents to just 68.4 points per game. South Dakota State’s 59 points was the lowest they’ve scored against any conference opponent this season.
SDSU junior guard Zeke Mayo earned Summit League Player of the Year in part because of his 21.1 points per game. Against St. Thomas, he only scored 11 on 3-10, but the Jackrabbits shared the offensive load and eight players scored.
The Tommies’ hot shooting they showed Sunday night was nonexistent, but it was that trademark defense that kept the game close. They shot 28.6% from the field but were only down 28-25 at halftime.
The lead fluctuated in the second half, but St. Thomas could never take the lead. At one point Allen made a three-pointer that put the game within one, but the Jackrabbits responded with a 7-0 run.
After the game, Tauer looked back on his team’s performance during the season and saw mostly positives.
“These guys, out of 33 games this year, I really felt like 31 of them at the end of the game, win or lose they played like champions,” Tauer said.
Adam Mueller can be reached at muel7541@stthomas.edu.