Junior guard Anders Nelson scored 17 points and surpassed 1,000 career points and No. 5-ranked St. Thomas closed its season with Sunday afternoon's 87-69 win over Gustavus in MIAC men's basketball play in St. Peter.

St. Thomas (7-0) averaged 83 points a game this season and went 5-0 over the last 12 days. They closed out their MIAC and Division III eras with a nine-game win streak. 

Under Coach Johnny Tauer, the Purple won 22 of their last 23 games played since mid-January 2020. Their 33-3 overall record over the last two seasons includes a 21-2 record away from home.

The Toms had only seven turnovers on Sunday and had five players score in double figures. Senior Burt Hedstrom scored 17 points, junior Parker Bjorklund finished with 16, senior Ryan Lindberg added 13 points and five assists, and sophomore Will Engels came off the bench to add 10 points and eight rebounds.

St. Thomas used an early 11-0 run to take the lead to stay. The Toms led 45-33 at halftime and pushed that cushion as high as 27 points in the final 6:00.

Nelson now has 1,005 points in 65 career contests, and the Toms are 46-6 in games when he scores in double figures.

St. Thomas starts play in Division I next fall and will compete in the Summit League for basketball.

The Tommies exit with the third most wins by a Division III program with 1,722 in 112 seasons. They won two of the last nine NCAA championships and also won or shared 14 of the last 15 MIAC regular-season crowns.