Guard Grant Shaeffer finished with 20 points to lead the No. 10-ranked St. Thomas men’s basketball team to a 83-65 victory over St. Scholastica Tuesday night at Schoenecker Arena.
The Tommies (3-1) traded baskets with the Saints (1-2) in the first half before pulling away in the second.
With about a minute left in the first half and the score tied 34-34, Shaeffer pulled up and drained a three-pointer from well behind the arc, giving the Tommies a momentum-building 37-34 lead at the break.
“I shot the ball well, finally,” Shaeffer said. “I’ve had a terrible start to the season shooting the ball, so it felt good to see the ball go through the rim.”
Shaeffer is averaging 11.5 points per game this season after averaging 14.6 points per game last year.
“Grant does so many things from scoring to being a leader, and certainly tonight he helped us navigate some rocky waters, particularly early on,” coach John Tauer said.
St. Scholastica managed to shrink St. Thomas’ lead to one at the beginning of the second half, but the deficit only grew for the remainder of the game.
Forward Connor Bair asserted himself off the bench for the Tommies to help put the game away.
Bair had no trouble breaking down the Saints defense. Despite a hand in the face, he nailed a three-pointer extending the team’s lead to nine with 8:39 left in the game.
Bair was not done, however, as he sank another three in transition, just seconds later, after a jump-ball favored the Tommies. His shot stretched the lead to 12, the closest the Saints got for the remainder of the game.
“Connor is a sophomore who is coming into his own,” Tauer said. “He’s a phenomenal shooter, and we want him to shoot when he’s open.”
Bair also contributed a block and drew an offensive foul on consecutive defensive possessions, which led to a Michael Hannon three that ultimately put the game out of reach for the Saints at 71-52 with 6:08 remaining.
Bair finished with 14 points and Hannon contributed 16.
Forward Ryan Boll lead the Tommies with nine rebounds.
St. Thomas will take the rest of the week off before starting the conference season against Macalester Nov. 30.
“Opening the conference season is always a different animal, since we will play teams we are more familiar with,” Tauer said. “I believe that our league is as balanced as I can remember it, and we know we are going to get everyone’s best shot.”
Taylor Smith can be reached at smit9660@stthomas.edu.