Men’s basketball: St. Thomas rolls past old rival Johnnies

For one half off basketball Thursday night at Anderson Arena it was just like old times for St Thomas and St John s The Tommies invited the Johnnies to their sparkling new arena on campus to pay homage to the two schools Division III rivalry that dates back to The competition was an exhibition for the Johnnies and an expected runaway for the Tommies A - Tommies halftime lead put things in an entirely different light But the second half brought a return to normalcy as the Tommies - outscored the Johnnies - en path to an - conquest Nolan Minessale led the Tommies with points to go with rebounds The Tommies started slow making only three of their first shots and after hitting a pair of s the Johnnies led - five minutes into the battle The Tommies took an - lead midway through the first half but a jumper by Kyle Johnson and a by Evan Weichert put the Johnnies up - The Tommies regained the lead at - thanks to a pair of fast-break dunks by Isaiah Johnson- Arigu A Johnson allowed the Johnnies to pull even at - but Minessale scored the next seven points to force a St John s timeout with just over four minutes to play in the half Another Minessale basket gave the Tommies a - lead but the Johnnies finished the first half on a - run The Tommies began to take control of the match early in the second half The lead grew to - in the first five minutes A Carter Bjerke gave the Tommies a - lead with just under minutes to play A by Jermaine Coleman that beat the buzzer the Tommies led - with eight minutes to play They led comfortably for the remainder of the match St Thomas guard Nick Janowski dribbles the ball against a St John's defender during a meeting in St Paul on Thursday Dec Nick Wosika University of St Thomas Briefly The teams last met in the - season St Thomas final season in the MIAC with the Tommies winning both games The Tommies next play on Saturday at North Carolina-Asheville