Guard John Nance’s 19 points carried the St. Thomas men’s basketball team to a 62-57 nail-biting victory against St. Olaf Wednesday at Schoenecker Arena.

The top-ranked Tommies (24-1 overall, 19-1 MIAC) head into the playoffs with an eight-game winning streak. The Oles (9-15 overall, 8-11 MIAC) dropped two games heading into their final regular-season game Saturday. Coach John Tauer said tonight’s game resembled that of the playoffs.

“It was a physical game,” Tauer said. “While it certainly wasn’t the smoothest or most fluid one we’ve had all year, I think it simulated in many ways playoff basketball.”

Intensity and tough play put the Tommies on the right track when Nance sank a 3-pointer from outside the arc early in the first half, giving his team a 7-2 lead. Nance continued to dominate from the field, driving to the hoop for a layup off of a strong defensive rebound by guard Marcus Alipate. Nance had eight rebounds and 6-of-9 from the floor.

Nance said he came into tonight’s game with intensity knowing it was Senior Night.

“The last couple of games I didn’t really come out aggressive,” Nance said. “I might have come out a little too aggressive because I had a couple turnovers in the early parts of the game.”

The first half continued with guard Erik Tengwall’s steal, followed by an easy layup to push the Tommies out to a commanding 15-6 lead. Tengwall had two rebounds and four points in the game. Forward Zach Riedeman got fans to their feet when he went up to dunk the ball, getting fouled in the process. Riedeman contributed six points and two assists.

Guard Will DeBerg cranked up the aggressive play when he saved the ball on defense, setting Nance up for a layup. DeBerg racked up 10 points and nine rebounds.

For Riedeman, he said the team didn’t show its best on the court.

“We definitely could have played better,” Riedeman said. “You can never say it was the referee’s fault or you never blame the game on the referees, but it was a physical game.”

With 1:56 remaining in the half, Nance sank another 3-pointer and pushed the St. Thomas’ lead to 28-24.

With the second half underway, the game took a turn of events with more foul calls. Despite the referee’s tight grasp on the game, DeBerg sank a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to give St. Thomas a 33-26 edge. Center Tommy Hannon put the Tommies in a tough place when he received a technical with 15:18 left.

But St. Thomas continued to surge ahead when DeBerg flipped the ball into the basket, putting his team up 46-35. Hannon’s layup with 1:37 remaining in the game put his team up 58-53.

After a tight final minute, the Tommies finished with a strong 62-57 victory.

With the No. 1 seed for the playoffs all but wrapped up, St. Thomas has time to prepare for its competition.

Tauer said the team needs to keep its spark heading into playoffs.

“The challenge is to make sure we stay sharp,” Tauer said. “In practice, we’ll probably have to go a little bit harder a little longer than we have been to get our legs going next week.”

Sean Crotty can be reached at crot0230@stthomas.edu.