Senior guard Marcus Alipate made four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points but No. 5-ranked St. Thomas fell 68-65 at Gustavus in MIAC play Wednesday night.
The Tommies (4-1 overall, 0-1 MIAC) missed the front end of two 1-and-1 foul chances down the stretch and later missed three potential game-tying shots on their last possession in the last 12 seconds.
Gustavus (4-1, 1-0) had 14 offensive boards and outrebounded UST 37-24. St. Thomas was outscored 8-3 at the foul line as it recorded its lowest point total of the season.
A 23-13 game-closing run over the final 11:00 sent the Gusties to a victory that ended a five-game losing streak to St. Thomas. Gary Cooper scored 15 points to lead Gustavus.
Ryan Saarela had 13 points and Conner Nord had 12 points and seven boards for the Tommies.
The Tommies play another road game Saturday at St. John's.