| Tommy Hannon's performance at the foul line sealed
the game for St. Thomas. St. Thomas photo by Greg Smith |
Senior All-American guard Tyler Nicolai scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half and the No. 7-ranked Tommies rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to defeat No. 4-ranked UW-Stevens Point, 61-54, in Wednesday night's non-conference men's basketball game at UST's new Schoenecker Arena.
A crowd of 1,200 watched the Toms (9-0) surge past the defending NCAA champions (5-2) with a 9-0 run in the final 1:35. St. Thomas has won six games this season after trailing in the second half.
Teddy Archer's inside basket with 1:33 to go broke a 52-52 tie. Alex Healy's layup off an outlet pass from Archer with 33 seconds left pushed the lead to 56-52. Tommy Hannon made 5-of-6 free throws in the final 26 seconds.
The Tommies extended their regular-season win streak to 21 and avenged a 22-point road loss to the Pointers from December 2009.
Point had a 27-11 edge in bench scoring as Jordan Breszinski had a game-high 15 points to go with seven rebounds, and Jerrel Harris had 10 points and six assists off the bench.
Healy closed with 14 points and four steals; Hannon had 13 points in eight rebounds; John Nance scored nine points; Archer had seven points, four rebounds and three assists; and football All-American Brady Ervin played 17 minutes in his season debut.
Both teams shot 42% from the floor. UST had a 35-32 rebounding edge and 16 turnovers to Stevens Point's 18.
Both teams showed the effects of their 14-day layoffs. Point led 25-20 at halftime and extended the margin to 37-25 with 13:00 to go. But Nicolai scored eight consecutive points and had 12 points in all during a 21-9 run that got the Toms back even at 46-46 with 5:44 left.
In a late 5:00 span, the Pointers scored just two baskets and missed all five free throws before Harris' layup at the buzzer.
UWSP's Louis Hurd finished with 10 points. The Pointers are just 1-5 since March 2009 when they score 60 or less points and 32-2 when they score 61 or more.
The Toms have started 9-0 for just the second time in the last 15 seasons. They resume MIAC play Jan. 3 at home against 6-1 St. Mary's. It will mark the fourth consecutive game that the unbeaten Toms will play a once-beaten team.
It was the fifth time in the last five weeks that a Tommie team beat a Division III top-10 ranked opponent. Football edged No. 8 Linfield in overtime on Nov. 27 in the NCAA playoffs; women's hockey split two 1-0 decisions against No. 4 Gustavus; and men's hockey split four games with No. 6 Gustavus and No. 9 Milwaukee School of Engineering with a pair of one-goal wins.
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