Junior guard Kendall Blue elevates for a layup. The Tommies beat North Dakota 86-71 Thursday at Schoenecker Areana. (The Crest/Eli Andersen) 
Junior Miles Barnstable went 9 for 12 from the field and led the Tommies with 25 points. (The Crest/Eli Andersen) 
Senior Ryan Dufault shoots a contested layup for the score. (The Crest/Eli Andersen) 
Redshirt sophomore Carter Bjerke shoots a last second bucket to close the half. (The Crest/Eli Andersen) 
Graduate student Drake Dobbs drives to the basket. (The Crest/Eli Andersen)
Junior guard Miles Barnstable scored 25 points on 9-12 shooting Thursday in the Tommies’ 86-71 win over North Dakota at Schoenecker Arena.
St. Thomas shot an efficient 54% from the field to bounce back from a 0-2 road trip and stay at second place in the Summit League.
“I just thought, all in all, it was a wonderful team win. North Dakota has got a really talented team,” coach Johnny Tauer said.
Thursday night’s win kept the Tommies in the hunt for first place in the Summit League. A loss from both South Dakota State and Omaha, along with a win at Schoenecker Arena Saturday, would give the Tommies the sole No. 1 spot.
The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the Summit League Championship will each play on Thursday, March 6. The No. 3 seed plays the evening of Friday, March 7.
Barnstable has scored 20-plus points eight times this season, but Thursday was his first time doing it at such an efficient clip. He scored his first 13 points without missing a shot.
“We came with a different energy tonight than we did the past few games and that’s just kind of what got us going in the beginning,” Barnstable said.
Sophomore forward Carter Bjerke scored 17 points on 10 attempts. He went 5-6 in the first half, including a physical finish at the rim in the final seconds before halftime.
Bjerke has been a reliable three-point shooter during his time in college, but Tauer said he expects him to continue to increase his paint-scoring.
“When you’re that good at one area, it’s easy to forget like, ‘Hey if I can get a couple layups,’ how much the game becomes easier and it opens up,” Tauer said.
The guard trio of graduate Drake Dobbs, junior Kendall Blue and first-year Ben Oosterbaan combined for 28 points, 12 assists and just three turnovers.
In all, St. Thomas dished out 22 assists and only had eight turnovers, continuing to be at the top of the conference in the metric.
The one statistic the Tommies faltered in was causing North Dakota turnovers. The Tommies rank second in the conference in turnover margin, but the Fighting Hawks only had four Thursday, the lowest a St. Thomas opponent has had all year.
“I thought we were aggressive defensively, but they really took good care of the ball. I do think turnovers –we don’t talk about it a lot– we’re one of the better teams in the conference in terms of turning people over,” Tauer said, “But it’s a little like hitting home runs in baseball. Even your best hitters, if you tell them, ‘Try to hit a home run,’ you’re going to do something foolish.”
Tauer said one of the reasons North Dakota’s offense was able to limit turnovers was because of how their roster is structured. He drew comparisons to his own squad.
“It’s not two mirror images but both teams are really skilled. Carter and (graduate forward Rich Byhre) can go out on the perimeter. They can put their bigs out on the perimeter or go small,” Tauer said.
Fighting Hawks sophomore forward Mambourou Mara scored 18 without a turnover. Sophomore guard Mier Panoam dished six assists with just one turnover.
St. Thomas made up for its lack of forced turnovers on the boards. Typically one of the weakest rebounding teams in the conference, the Tommies grabbed 41 Thursday, eight more than UND.
“We don’t have a seven-footer. Nobody on our team is going to get 15 rebounds … It’s one of the things that they’re so coachable with, whether it’s taking care of the ball, just embracing this is who we are and we have to collectively rebound,” Tauer said.
The victory over UND was a bounce-back win after the Tommies lost two straight games on the road the week prior, dropping out of first place in the process.
“We all trust each other, and we knew that we were going to bounce back. Just staying together and working hard, that’s all it is,” Bjerke said.
The Tommies have now won 17 straight games in Schoenecker Arena, a tie with St. John’s in New York for the longest active home win streak in Division I basketball.
“The people here love us. There’s just a different thing when you’re playing here compared to other places,” Barnstable said.
St. Thomas will look to extend the streak and end the regular season with a win against Kansas City Saturday, March 1 at 7 p.m.
Adam Mueller can be reached at muel7541@stthomas.edu.
