Graduate forward Parker Bjorklund’s 19 points and the team’s smothering defense powered the Tommies past Oral Roberts 85-63 Thursday night at Schoenecker Arena.
The Tommies (16-9, 6-4 Summit) hurdled the Golden Eagles (11-12, 5-5 Summit) in the conference standings, breaking the tie and solely owning their spot at third in the Summit League. St. Thomas continued its now trademark defense, holding Oral Roberts to 13 points below its average. Coach Johnny Tauer lauded his players for their defense and teamwork throughout the game.
“More than anything, I just think our connectedness, our defensive intensity, and the way these guys love playing with one another is really inspiring,” Tauer said.
Bjorklund quickly made it apparent that the Tommies were going to put on a show for their first home game of the spring semester. His eight straight points for a 10-2 lead early in the first half drew an explosion of noise from the 1,148 fans in attendance.
“We really feed off that energy, so we’re super thankful to have such a great fan base out there and to support us every night,” Bjorklund said.
Sophomore guard Kendall Blue, fresh off 16 points in a win over Kansas City on Saturday, was right on Bjorklund’s tail with 18 points of his own. This game was just another in a stretch of Blue becoming a more valuable piece to the Tommies.
“His intangibles, the last three weeks, are so much better than they have been,” Tauer said. “He has a chance to be one of the best players in this conference before he’s done.”
Blue and Bjorklund were able to pick apart the Golden Eagles’ defense while their teammates rained down from beyond the arc, shooting 10-14 without the duo. When combined with graduate guard Raheem Anthony’s fast-paced transition offense and six assists, Oral Roberts was hard-pressed to form any semblance of a comeback.
Oral Roberts’ offensive spark usually comes from senior guard Issac McBride, but the Tommies were able to keep him quiet all night. McBride, who was averaging 20.8 points per game heading into Thursday’s game, was held to just 11. Senior guard Drake Dobbs led the charge in silencing McBride.
“Drake all year, in my mind, has been an unsung hero for us,” Tauer said.
The rest of the Tommies pulled their weight defensively, holding Oral Roberts to just 37% from the field and 30% from three-point range.
Defense led to more offense, as the Tommies scored 17 points off turnovers to the Golden Eagles’ 1, thanks in part to four steals from graduate forward Brooks Allen and the duo of Blue and Anthony’s fastbreak offense.
“I had a lot to Raheem that really got me going,” Blue said. “I feel like my defense leads to my offense.”
A steady barrage on offense kept the Golden Eagles down and out, and they never even had a chance to get back in the game. The Tommies were careful with the ball, turning it over once in the first half, and only six times in the game.
“I think it shows that these guys understand the value of the ball,” Tauer said.
This tiebreaker victory over Oral Roberts gave the Tommies a little breathing room now that they stand alone in third place, but the Summit League race remains tight. Two wins separate the top five teams, but Tauer said he sees tonight’s win as just that, a win.
“I think these guys do a really good job of focusing on what we can control,” Tauer said. “A lot of times I don’t even know the conference standings. I know it’s all bunched up, but it’s like, let’s just us keep getting better and we want to be playing our basketball at the end of the season.”
The Tommies will travel to take on Denver at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10 at Hamilton Gymnasium, in Denver.
Adam Mueller can be reached at muel7541@stthomas.edu.