Senior guard Will DeBerg scored all of his 19 points in the second half, including both ends of a 1-and-1 free-throw chance with 13 seconds to go, to lift the No. 1-ranked Tommies to a 68-63 win at Gustavus in MIAC men's basketball play Wednesday night in St. Peter.
The Tommies (22-1 overall, 17-1 MIAC) trailed 33-27 at halftime but took the lead to stay with a 25-5 run in the first 5:31 of the second half. DeBerg sank five treys in that surge after going scoreless in the first 20:00.
Gustavus missed a chance to pull witihin one point on a possession with 1:00 left, and Tommy Hannon hit a tough inside shot with 38 seconds to go to extend the lead to 66-61.
After a Gustie basket cut the lead back to three, DeBerg sank two foul shots. The host team missed a three in the final five seconds.
St. Thomas has held 20 of its last 22 opponents under 66 points. The Toms shot 51 percent from the floor and had only 11 turnovers. John Nance scored 11 points. UST outscored the Gusties in bench points 23-14.