Six players scored in double figures during the No. 8-ranked St. Thomas men’s basketball team’s 94-81 victory over Elmhurst College in the second round of the NCAA tournament Saturday night at Schoenecker Arena.
Center Ryan Saarela led the Tommies (26-3 overall, 18-2 conference) in scoring for the second night in a row with 19 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Guards Grant Shaeffer and Cortez Tillman added 18 and 15 points, respectively. The Tommies held a five-point lead at halftime and, after seven second-half lead changes, were able to pull away in the final eight minutes.
The game’s physical play was a factor from the start as Elmhurst got into foul trouble early, putting St. Thomas in the bonus just six and a half minutes into the game. The Bluejays (22-7 overall, 10-4 conference) were whistled for 30 fouls, placing St. Thomas at the free throw line a season-high 37 times, including 22 attempts in the first half.
“We knew coming into the game that it was going to be one of the most physical games of the year,” Saarela said. “Their big guys were really physical, and they’re really good players. So we just had to bring it. We came out with a lot of energy.”
Forward Jimmy Remke was an early threat off the bench for the Tommies, scoring 12 of his 15 points in the first half. Forward Ryan Boll added 10 points, hitting 2-of-2 from beyond the arc, and guard Taylor Montero finished with 14 points and eight rebounds. Saturday night’s game marked the second time this season that St. Thomas had six players in double figures.
“We pride ourselves on balanced scoring,” coach John Tauer said. “Elmhurst is one of the toughest defensive teams we’ve seen. To put up 94 on the board, I’m certainly proud of how these guys shared the ball and played together.”
St. Thomas held a 30-17 lead in the first half before Elmhurst guard Kyle Wuest scored 16 of the Bluejays’ next 22 points to tie the game at 39-39. Wuest put on an impressive shooting display, scoring 20 points in the first half and finishing the game with 33 points, going 5-8 on 3-pointers.
“That’s as good of an individual performance as we’ve seen this year,” Tauer said. “I mean, he hit threes, he hit pull-ups, he took it to the basket. And it wasn’t like we were giving him open shots.”
Shaeffer finished a tough layup in traffic and knocked down a 3-pointer on the next possession in the final minute of the first half to give St. Thomas a 44-39 lead at the break.
Wuest scored Elmhurst’s first eight points of the second half on three straight possessions to ignite a 16-6 run as the Bluejays regained the lead at 57-53 at the 14-minute mark.
“A big thing, even this whole season, was just weathering the storm of people’s runs, and it’s really hard when a player like that gets going because (Wuest) was hitting big shots,” Tillman said. “We were playing good defense on him and he was still hitting shots, so we just tried to stay focused on our end too.”
The game went back and forth until a pair of free throws from Montero gave St. Thomas a 69-68 lead that it held for the remainder of the contest. Several baskets by Saarela and a deep 3-pointer from Tillman on three straight possessions capped a 14-3 run for the Tommies, giving them a 81-71 lead with 3:20 to play.
Elmhurst pulled within six, but a five-point play by Montero sealed the deal and extended the St. Thomas lead to 13 with less than two minutes to play. Montero got the Tommie crowd on its feet with a fastbreak layup, drawing a foul and hitting an additional two free throws after an Elmhurst technical foul was called on the play. St. Thomas closed out the game on a 27-13 run.
This win returned St. Thomas to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2013 and its fourth appearance in the last eight seasons. The Tommies improved to 16-6 in NCAA tournament games during that span, including a 9-0 record at home.
St. Thomas is set to face No. 11-ranked Whitman in the next round of the tournament. The NCAA will announce the game’s location on Sunday. Check TommieMedia.com for updates.
Joey Geske can be reached at gesk8583@stthomas.edu.