Tommies beat Johnnies 80-56, Nolan Minessale has 30-point night

The Lee and Penny Anderson Arena emulated a time machine Thursday night for the 80-56 St. Thomas victory over the Johnnies. The historic rivals faced each other for the first time in over four years. The arena divided in red and purple, though St. Thomas played in white jerseys and St. John’s in light blue.

As tradition follows, the crowd booed St. John’s right off the gate. Johnnie fans retaliated with their own animosity. When the Tommie mascot handed t-shirts to those Johnnie faithful, one fan retaliated by wiping his rear-end with it. SJU fans then infiltrated the student section but were escorted out shortly after. Back to the old ways for both teams.

“I’m from here, so I’ve seen a little bit of the rivalry growing up, going to some of the St. Thomas games and seeing them play. It was definitely fun to be a part of (the rivalry) and the student turnout was amazing,” sophomore forward Isaiah Johnson-Arigu said.

The Tommies were tested during the first half and headed to the locker room up 35-31. But after stringing consecutive baskets in the second half, St. Thomas pulled away to defeat St. John’s. Welcome back to St. Paul Johnnies. 

Sophomore guard Nolan Minessale scored at least 30 points for the second consecutive game. The second-year guard is fourth in the country in points scored, and his 21.2 points per game rank 13th.

Minessale said he hadn’t been familiar with the Tommie-Johnnie rivalry until the coaching staff laid it out for him.

“I saw two weeks ago it was sold out, and I was kind of shocked about that,” Minessale said. “Our coaches did a good job of telling us what this meant, what the rivalry was back in the day. It was cool to see both sides had a lot of people there, and it was really cool to see how passionate the fanbases were. It was amazing to be part of this and is a cool tradition to be back.”

Both players said coach Johnny Tauer showed them some of his film leading up to the game to illustrate the rivalry.

Johnson-Arigu said the team prepared as if St. John’s was a Division I team. Same routine, same practice. He later said D-III teams “move the ball a lot more” and that “it’s a little bit different seeing that.”

“They spread the floor, they shorten the game, and they made some shots. And we didn’t shoot it well … that’s the beauty of basketball. Every game is its own entity,” Tauer said. 

St. John’s coach Pat McKenzie said Thursday’s game was about trying different personnel groups and stress management. 

“We didn’t game plan at all. We had a game last night, in-conference game. We dropped it, so it was a quick turnaround,” McKenzie said. 

Before St. Thomas transitioned to Division I, Tauer and McKenzie faced off 14 times. Tauer led the series 8-6.

Minessale recorded his first career double-double after corralling 11 rebounds. Redshirt first-year Nick Janowski was the second-highest scorer with 15 points. Johnson-Arigu finished the game with 10 points, five rebounds and one assist.

Season recap so far

After their Nov. 13 game against Green Bay, the Tommies are 6-2. In that span, St. Thomas has only played three home games. UST won all, defeating D-III Lawrence 87-52 on Nov. 29, Weber State 88-65 on Dec. 7 and Thursday’s game against St. John’s.

St. Thomas has also reached significant milestones throughout the first month of the season. The Tommies have won 23 straight home games, the longest streak in the country. 

Minessale tied the St. Thomas D-I era single-game record with 32 points against Weber State. He’s also claimed Summit League Peak Performer of the Week the last three weeks, dating back to Nov. 18. Minessale made ESPN Sportcenter’s Top-10 after a half-court buzzer beater against Northern Colorado on Nov. 21.

Juan Del Valle can be reached at delv9625@stthomas.edu.