07-03-2025
No. 2 St. Thomas downs No. 7 Denver to make semis
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Summit League) – No. 2 seed St. Thomas used a first-half, three-point barrage, securing an 80-62 victory over No. 7 seed Denver in quarterfinal action at the 2025 Summit League Men's Basketball Championship on Thursday at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.
Junior Miles Barnstable led a trio of Tommies in double figures with 17 points, Kendall Blue added 15 and Carter Bjerke chipped in 13 off the bench for a St. Thomas team that made eight of its 10 three pointers in the opening 20 minutes.A flurry of those 3-pointers were made early, staking St. Thomas to a double-digit lead just over seven minutes into the contest. The Tommies were able to keep that momentum and extend the lead to 16 by halftime.
Blue had 13 of his 15 points in those opening 20 minutes and drilled all three of his long-distance attempts to get the offense rolling.
The Tommies finished with a 58 percent clip from the floor, while holding Denver to a 30 percent effort in the first half, which resulted in a a 48-32 halftime lead for St. Thomas, who won a quarterfinal game for the third consecutive year.
In the second half, DU could never muster a strong enough charge as St. Thomas held the lead above double figures throughout. Barnstable had 11 points after the break to pace the Tommies.
Denver sophomore DeAndre Craig led his squad with 15 points, while freshman Josh Pickett added 14 for the Pioneers, who were under the direction of interim head coach Shammond Williams.
The Tommies will play the winner of the Friday's quarterfinal between No. 3 seed South Dakota State and No. 6 seed North Dakota that will be played 25 minutes following the first quarterfinal of the session.
Turning PointThe Tommies' Ben Nau broke an early 8-8 tie by making a trio of free throw attempts after being fouled on shot from beyond the arc and St. Thomas never trailed again. Those freebies were the start of a 9-2 run that Bjerke capped with back-to-back triple. Inside the Box Score
St. Thomas made six of its first seven attempts from 3-point range, including five straight at one point before finishing the half 8-for-15. The Tommies would finish 10-for-20 from deep, while DU went just 4-for-13.
Craig led Denver with 15 points and has now reached double figures in all four of his Summit League Tournament games and closed the season with 12 consecutive games in that category.
St. Thomas graduate student Drake Dobbs dished a career-high eight assists and only had one turnover.
News & Notes
The Tommies have now won a quarterfinal game in all three of their Summit League Tournament appearances.
Denver did not experience the same seventh-seed magic in this tournament after making a run to the program's first title-game appearance from the same seed line a season ago.
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