Guard Michael Hannon scored 23 points off the bench to lead the St. Thomas men’s basketball team to a victory against Bethel 78-58 Jan. 30 at Schoenecker Arena, giving the Tommies their sixth consecutive win to stand alone atop the MIAC.
The Tommies (15-4 overall, 11-3 MIAC) and the Royals (14-5 overall, 10-4 MIAC) entered the contest tied for the conference lead.
St. Thomas coach John Tauer was pleased with how his team played against the Royals considering the Tommies had a quick turn around after beating Saint John’s in Collegeville on Saturday.
“I thought we played with great energy against an excellent team,” Tauer said. “It was one of our more solid performances as far as playing a complete game.”
Bethel kept the game close for much of the first half, but with 8:45 left and the Tommies leading 20-17, Hannon drove the ball into the lane and passed it behind his head to forward Jordan Burich, who was wide open for a layup.
St. Thomas forced a Bethel turnover on the next possession and the Tommies and Hannon made the Royals pay, hitting a wide open three-pointer in transition off a pass from guard Grant Shaeffer to give the Tommies a 25-17 lead.
“Michael’s ability to score in multiple ways, whether it’s his shooting or setting up his teammates makes him difficult to guard.” Tauer said.
The Tommies led at halftime 42-31.
St. Thomas went on a 28 to 17 run to start the second half, highlighted by yet another three from Hannon. That basket put the game out of reach at 70-48 with 6:10 to go.
In addition to Hannon’s 23 points, forward Ryan Boll had 15 points and Shaeffer contributed 13 to go with his six assists.
Burich led the Tommies in rebounds with 14.
“We are playing with joy again,” Shaeffer said. “It got lost earlier in the season with losses, but we’re playing together and having fun and the results are coming along as you saw tonight.”
The Tommies’ next game is against Gustavus on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Taylor Smith can be reached at smit9660@stthomas.edu.