Freshman guard Anders Nelson finished with 24 points, six steals, five assists and five rebounds to lead visiting St. Thomas to an 83-61 victory over Macalester Wednesday night in the MIAC men's basketball opener for both teams.

St. Thomas (3-1 overall, 1-0 MIAC) has won three in a row since losing 78-77 on the road at Brooklyn College 13 days ago. The Tommies had only six turnovers, their starters shot 56 percent from the field, and they finished with a 24-7 edge in bench points.

Jackson Henningfield closed with 15 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Scots (2-3).

The game was tied 10-10 through the first 7:00 on the clock. Nelson scored 15 points to fuel a 31-12 run that gave the Toms a 41-22 halftime lead.

St. Thomas built the lead to 60-30 before the Scots kicked their offense into higher gear and trimmed the lead to 16 down the stretch. 

Tommie seniors Michael Hannon had 12 points and Connor Bair added 11 points.

St. Thomas plays UW-River Falls Friday night in downtown Minneapolis in the first basketball game ever held in US Bank Stadium, the home of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings.