St. Thomas men’s basketball nearly shocked the world Dec. 14 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but came up just short in a battle at No. 7 Marquette, 84-79.
Five Tommies reached double-digit scoring, led by senior Drake Dobbs with 14 points followed by sophomore Kendall Blue with 13. St. Thomas displayed their sharpshooting, sinking a total of 13 three-pointers at a 38.2% clip. The Tommies outshot the Golden Eagles, 52.7% to 50.0%, and scored 25 points off the bench, led by junior Ben Nau with 12 points, who added a team-high six rebounds, and freshman Carter Bjerke with 11.
Head coach Johnny Tauer on the resilience and teamwork from St. Thomas:
“I think the thing I’m most proud of is we got down a couple times, 12-13 points, and Marquette has the kind of offense that a 13-point lead can quickly turn into a 25-point knockout. I thought our guys trusted each other. They kept playing tough together. When you’re that close against one of the probably top five teams in the country, it stings to not win, but I think it also certainly demonstrates the growth we’ve had in the program in only two-plus years of Division I. We talk about proud past and bright future. Incredibly grateful for the turnout we had from Tommie alums, which was nothing short of spectacular and a lot of those people are the guys that helped build this program and get it where it is. We’re excited for a bright future.”
