SALEM, Virginia — For the second time in six seasons, the No. 8-ranked St. Thomas men’s basketball team secured the national championship with guard Taylor Montero and center Ryan Saarela combining to score 53 points in the Tommies’ 82-76 victory over No.1-ranked Benedictine Saturday night in the championship game at the Salem Civic Center.
Montero chipped in 27 points, shooting eight of 12 from the field and grabbing 11 rebounds. Saarela was dominant down low, connecting on 11 of his 13 shots for 26 points and 10 boards. Despite the rankings, Saarela was positive the Tommies would win the title.
“I’m so proud of all of our guys. We knew if we just played our game and played well, we’d beat any team in the nation,” Saarela said.
A strong first half from Montero propelled St. Thomas to its early lead. He connected on six of his nine shots, scoring 15 points and grabbing five rebounds. At one point in the middle of the half, he scored six straight points on three consecutive possessions. Concluding the game, Montero was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
The six-foot-four-inch, 215-pound guard had most of his success in the lane and used his frame to overpower his counterparts and get good positioning in the paint. Montero shoots nearly 47 percent from threes, which assisted in getting good positioning.
“They were playing me aggressively, and I kind of just blew by my guy because they were playing so aggressively,” Montero said.
Center Ryan Saarela avoided foul trouble in the finals, tallying just one foul at the 7:20 mark of the first half. He finished that half with 8 points, connecting on all four of his shots.
Saarela increased his productivity in the second half, tallying 18 points and six rebounds, shooting seven of nine from the field.
The previous night against Christopher Newport, Saarela found himself in early foul trouble the first half and eventually fouled out midway through the second half. He ended the game with seven points and three rebounds in 17 minutes of play.
“After last night I wanted to come out aggressive,” Saarela said. “I saw the ball go through the basket a couple times and I just started feeling it. My teammates and coaches believed in me, and they put me in a great spot.”
Saarela and the rest of the Tommie defense held the Eagles to nearly 48 percent from the field with the guards providing suffocating help defense down low throughout the contest. Benedictine also felt the defensive pressure from outside the arc, shooting eight of 22. Tauer said his team followed one of his mantras well tonight, especially on defense.
“One of our mantras in the program is ‘dare to be great.’ Dare to be great means you never back down, you never go away from what you believe in; I thought that served us well tonight,” Tauer said.
Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference Player of the Year Luke Johnson led the Eagles with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Guard John Dodson chipped in 13 points, while forward Tim Reamer added 11 in Benedictine’s first national championship appearance.
Coincidentally, the last time the Tommies won the national championship, they recorded a 30-3 record.
Win or lose, this was going to be the last game for six seniors: Guards Thomas Sjoberg, Cortez Tillman, Montero, forwards Jimmy Remke, Cullen Ogren and Saarela tallied a 106-15 record in their four-year careers. During their tenure, they’ve appeared in two Final Fours and captured four MIAC titles. Tauer is sad to see the seniors go.
“I’m going to miss these guys a ton,” Tauer said. “But there’s no doubt in my mind there’s a piece of my heart that goes with these guys because they’re as good a senior class you could ever coach.”
Jesse Krull can be reached at krul7386@stthomas.edu.