Marcus Alipate matched his season high with 22 points, aided by six 3-pointers, as No. 11-ranked St. Thomas clinched the solo MIAC men's basketball championship with Wednesday's 73-68 road win at Gustavus.

It's the ninth consecutive MIAC crown for St. Thomas.

Zach Riedeman sank two clutch free throws with 23 seconds to go for a five-point lead. Erik Tengwall made 3-of-4 free throws in the final 12 seconds to deny the Gusties.

UST used a 12-0 run midway through the first half and 10-0 run early in the second half to keep Gustavus at bay. The hosts got as close as two in the second half but never gained the lead.

The Tommies (21-3 overall, 18-1 MIAC) shot 51 percent from the floor, had only 10 turnovers and outscored the Gusties 24-3 from the 3-point arc.

Riedeman had 14 points, Conner Nord had nine points and eight rebounds, Tengwall had nine points and six assists, and Grant Shaeffer had nine points.

St. Thomas is home Saturday for a 3 p.m. game against archrival St. John's.

Click here for box score:

http://www.miacathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2013-14/boxscores/20140219_ywbm.xml