ROCK ISLAND, Illinois — The No. 8-ranked St. Thomas men’s basketball team is heading to the Final Four after another strong night by guard Grant Shaeffer, who had 24 points in the Tommies’ 86-76 upset victory over No. 1-ranked Augustana in the Elite Eight Saturday night at Roy J. Carver Center at Augustana College.
Shaeffer also tallied five rebounds and three assists, shooting seven of 16 from the field in nearly 40 minutes of play. The guard knew it was going to be a strenuous night.
“I was worn out, and I’ll be pretty sore tomorrow, but right now I feel like I could go 40 more (minutes),” Shaeffer said. “I think we’re all on cloud nine, and it’s awesome.”
The junior’s impressive performance comes on the heels of a team-leading 18 points in the Tommies’ 99-73 victory over Whitman Friday night. Shaeffer averages just over 18 points, three assists and more than three rebounds per game.
“(Shaeffer’s) ability to handle their pressure — not single-handedly because other guys certainly helped — but his ability to really withstand that … It was incredible,” coach John Tauer said.
Shaeffer’s fellow guard Cortez Tillman was ineffective the first half, chalking up two fouls and scoring zero points in nine minutes. Tillman redeemed himself in the second half, however, and chipped in 15 points without registering a foul.
Tillman had a frightening moment with 1:47 left in the second half when he crossed up his defender and had a clear path to the basket. Just as he was going up for the layup, Augustana forward Brandon Motzel fouled Tillman hard, and he slid across the floor, hitting his head on the stands behind the basket. The guard was shaken up but connected on one of his free throws.
Tillman and Shaeffer’s effectiveness was based on their ability to get to the lane, which either gave them a close-range opportunity or enticed the defenders to help and opened up another Tommie. Tillman knew penetration to the post was going to be crucial for the Tommies’ victory.
“That was a big key to get into the lane. There wasn’t really a point where we knew we were going to win, but that was the key to success,” Tillman said. “Just either getting it down or kicking it out for threes.”
Center Ryan Saarela benefited from the guard’s push, scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Guard Taylor Montero chipped in 13 points on four of eight shooting, and forward Jimmy Remke recorded 12 points and six rebounds.
Tauer called Augustana one of the most physical teams he’s seen in his 16 years of coaching. The Vikings’ roster features just two players under six feet tall, and no post player is smaller than six feet four inches. Center Ryan Saarela felt the impact of Augustana’s physicality.
“Their posts are really good; they’re really tough, so it was one of the most physical games I’ve played in,” Saarela said.
Augustana (29-2) held a 41-35 advantage over St. Thomas (28-3) coming out of halftime, but never held another lead past the 11:46 mark of the second half. The Vikings were led by reigning College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Player of the Year Hunter Hill, who scored 21 points. Guards Griffin Pils and Chrishawn Orange each scored 10 points.
The Tommies are hoping to continue their success against No. 5-ranked Christopher Newport in the national semifinals on Friday. The Captains are anchored by guards Marcus Carter (15.9 PPG) and Aaron McFarland (14.0 PPG) and forward Tim Daly (13.2 PPG). It is the fourth trip to the Final Four in school history and third in the past six years.
This will be the first time in program history St. Thomas squares off against the Virginia-based college, but before preparing for the competition, Tauer wants to let his team enjoy the Elite Eight victory.
“They’ll have a raucous crowd, and we’ll do our diligence with them,” Tauer said. “But I want these guys to enjoy this for the next 36 hours, and we’ll get back to work on Monday.”
Jesse Krull can be reached at krul7386@stthomas.edu.