The St. Thomas men’s basketball team scratched out a 73-64 non-conference victory over Wisconsin-Stevens Point behind 22 points by guard Grant Shaeffer on Wednesday night at Schoenecker Arena.
The Tommies (6-3) got off to a blistering start in the first half, opening the game with an 18-2 run. Junior guard John Veil helped power the Tommie charge with five points in the first minute of the game.
“We haven’t really had a start like that yet this year, and it’s something that we’ve really worked on in practice. We’ve got to come out hot and put pressure on the defense,” Shaeffer said. “We really executed the game plan on defense and we were able to get stops and then convert those to points.”
Following the early run, the Pointers (4-3) were only able to trim the lead down to eight points before the Tommies went on another run to end the first half with a 14 point lead. St. Thomas held Stevens Point to a 37 percent field goal percentage in the half.
The second half was a different story. Stevens Point rallied and managed to cut the lead to 64-59 with 3:11 remaining in the game. However, the Tommies survived down the stretch to clinch the win.
“They’re really good, that’s part of it. Offensively, they did a couple different things that we had to adjust to, and they were able to exploit us a little bit there,” said head coach John Tauer.
Junior forward Ryan Boll finished the game with 19 points and five rebounds for St. Thomas. Sophomore forward Mark Nelson led the Pointers with 14 points.
Shaeffer said playing tough teams like the Pointers, who are a perennial power in the WIAC, during the non-conference schedule makes things a little more exciting.
“This is a game that I think both programs look forward to every year. We obviously like to think of ourselves as a great program, and they’re a solidified program, so it’s a game that we love to play in,” he said.
Tauer echoed similar sentiments.
“Everything was not perfect, but we’re thrilled to get a win against a program like Stevens Point,” he said.
The Tommies hope the play that produced two consecutive losses to begin December is behind them. Shaeffer said this relatively inexperienced team is starting to put the pieces together this season.
“You saw the growing pains early on, we knew we were going to struggle a little bit coming out of the gate, and we did. We weren’t comfortable with each other, we didn’t have an identity,” he said. “Obviously we’re not a finished product yet, but you can see that the product we’re putting on the court is better.”
The Tommies now enter a break until Jan. 2, when they resume conference play against Gustavus. St. Thomas enters the hiatus fresh off big wins over both the Pointers and rival St. John’s.
“It certainly leaves a good taste in our mouths,” Tauer said. “It’s a nice way to go into the holidays, but I know our guys are not complacent and they’re hungry to continue to improve.”
Spencer Flaten can be reached at flat6148@stthomas.edu.