St. Thomas junior guard Hayden Tibbits goes up for a 3-pointer in the final minute of the game. The Tommies lost to the University of Minnesota Gophers 76-62 Friday at the Barn by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota in Minneapolis. (Abigail Peters/The Crest) 
Tommie junior forward Jeremy Lorenz (#33) attempts to block Gopher senior forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson (#5) from passing the ball to teammate. (Abigail Peters/The Crest) 
St. Thomas fans cheer as the Tommies come back to within 8 points of the Gophers in the second half. (Abigail Peters/The Crest) 
Tommie junior guard Austin Herro (#2) goes up for a rebound in the last three minutes of the game as St. Thomas attempts to stage a comeback. (Abigail Peters/The Crest) 
Tommie graduate guard Kendall Blue (#4) high-fives Tibbits (#1) after St. Thomas scores a 3-pointer in the first half. This was Blue’s first game playing after transferring back to St. Thomas at the beginning of the season. (Abigail Peters/The Crest) 
The Tommies celebrate after blocking a basket by the Gophers with under five minutes left in the second half. (Abigail Peters/The Crest) 
The Tommies gather for a pregame huddle as the Gopher players are being announced. (Abigail Peters/The Crest)
St. Thomas men’s basketball fell to Minnesota 76-62 at The Barn amidst cheers from over 10,000 fans in their first game against a Big Ten opponent.
The game was the first meeting between the schools since Dec. 11, 1934, and the first time two D-I programs in the state of Minnesota have faced off in men’s basketball.
“The fact that there’s two Division I schools and with us facing off tonight, I just think that’s monumental for the state and for the youth,” St. Thomas graduate forward Carter Bjerke said.
Minnesota (2-0) took control in the first half. After the Gophers led 17-16 midway through the first half, they went on a 23-6 run that sent them to the locker room up 40-22. St. Thomas (1-1) shot 7 for 31 from the field and 2 for 19 from three-point range in the half.
“I thought our guys had an incredible mindset coming out,” Minnesota coach Niko Medved said. “It would have been hard for me to ask them to play better than they did in the first half.”
Gopher junior guard Isaac Asuma led the way with 20 points on 6-for-10 shooting, going 4 for 7 from three. Gopher senior forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson added 16 points and 10 rebounds, and sophomore guard Nolan Groves scored 15 off the bench.
St. Thomas came out of halftime with a different approach. Coach Johnny Tauer said the message in the break was to stop “trying to hit home runs” and return to the group’s original mindset.
“We talked about getting back to more of our competitive spirit,” Tauer said. “You talk about how we want to play and what really embodies our style of play. I thought the second half we did that.”
The Tommies outscored Minnesota 40-36 in the second half, shooting 13 for 28 from the field and 7 for 17 from three. They had two 9-0 runs, cutting the deficit to 64-57, before Tommie graduate guard Kendall Blue missed two free throws that would have made it a two-possession game.
The Tommies never recovered that burst of momentum.
Asuma said that even though the Gophers won, he felt they could’ve played better in the second half.
“I just think we got a little casual,” Asuma said. “We had a lead up heading into halftime, and you know, we died. We thought they were gonna lie down, but they got a great culture, and a great coach, so they picked it up.”
Junior forward Jeremy Lorenz led St. Thomas with 13 points, junior guard Hayden Tibbits scored 12 and Bjerke added 9 on 3-for-6 shooting from three.
Tauer said he would welcome a rematch, though he acknowledged the difficult scheduling reality for a Big Ten team.
“I understand a lot goes into it,” Tauer said. “But I think both teams got better tonight. The crowd interest and the fact that we’re the only two (D-I Minnesota) teams, but again, win or lose, we would love to play the Gophers.”
Medved said he also hopes this isn’t the teams’ last meeting, calling the game “great for basketball in the Twin Cities.”
Even in a building full of maroon and gold, the Tommie fans made themselves heard, getting noticeably louder as the team cut the deficit in the second half.
Asuma said playing in front of a crowd with fans cheering against them helped prepare Minnesota for the Big Ten.
“Facing adversity to me when things weren’t going our way and when we weren’t playing as well was rough,” Asuma said. “But we still had to just toughen up and get it done.”
St. Thomas will play their home opener against Green Bay at 1 p.m. on Nov. 8 at Lee and Penny Anderson Arena.
Reagan Boschulte can be reached at bosc3829@stthomas.edu.
Abigail Peters can be reached at pete4956@stthomas.edu.
