Guard Noah Kaiser made his return to the court from a wrist injury Monday and scored 14 points off the bench, lifting the No. 1 St. Thomas men’s basketball past Bethel 75-64 to secure its 27th MIAC championship.
The Tommies’ (21-1 overall, 16-1 MIAC) victory marked the team’s eighth-consecutive shared or outright conference title; a first in MIAC history. The team also solidified the No. 1 seed for the upcoming MIAC playoffs.
Coach John Tauer said the program takes pride in the eighth-straight title.
“Nobody’s ever done that in the 91 (season) history of (the MIAC),” Tauer said. “Our guys, both current, but also past alums, take a lot of pride in the way these guys play.”
Forward Zach Riedeman’s early 3-pointer sparked the Tommies on the board first. Riedeman had six points and shot 33 percent from the field. The team continued its hot 3-point shooting when Kaiser sank a three from the top of the arc, pushing the team’s lead to 17-12.
Center Tommy Hannon led the team with 15 points and had two assists throughout the game. Guard Will DeBerg contributed nine points and added three rebounds to the Tommies’ 33.
Tauer said he was happy with the team’s early lead in the first half.
“We got off to a great start early and then got a little stagnate,” Tauer said. “All in all, I thought the effort was great by the guys.”
With 6:37 remaining in the first half, Kaiser showed his offensive strength when he cut around the Royals’ defense, driving to the hoop and finishing with a layup. Center Conner Nord’s staunch defense benefited the Tommies late in the first half when he grabbed a rebound with 4:50 remaining. Nord racked up 11 rebounds on the night.
Nord said the team’s dynamic play contributed the victory.
“We rebounded and played really aggressive,” Nord said. “We just stuck together as a team even though they were close (and) made their runs.”
Despite being down with seconds to spare in the first half, the Royals didn’t throw in the towel. Forward J.D. Robinson nailed a 3-point shot at the buzzer to pull the Royals within 11 at the break, trailing 41-30.
Kaiser said the Royals put up a strong fight.
“They’re a tough team,” Kaiser said. “We knew that even though we got them down early they’d fight back.”
Heading into the second half, Bethel forward Aden Casey nailed a 3-pointer, bringing his team to a 41-35 deficit. Guard John Nance answered with a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to push his team’s lead to 48-37. Nance was perfect from the field with five points.
Guard Marcus Alipate’s two free throws kept the Tommies surging forward 52-41. The Tommies’ strong offense continued when guard Erik Tengwall made a layup after cutting through the Royals’ strong defensive efforts. Tengwall shot 50 percent from the field.
Riedeman’s free throw shot with 31 seconds left in the game stamped the Tommies’ victory. St. Thomas travels to Gustavus (13-8 overall, 12-6 MIAC) Wednesday.
Tauer said the next three conference games will be a challenge.
“We’ve got three more tough games,” Tauer said. “Going into these three games we really look at every game is a chance to get better.”
Sean Crotty can be reached at crot0230@stthomas.edu.