Six players from St. Thomas reached double digits in scoring, but a late three-pointer by Denver resulted in an 82-80 loss for the Tommies on Saturday at Hamilton Gymnasium. Nick Janowski led St. Thomas with 19 points and six rebounds, while the team shot 55.2 percent from the field and outrebounded Denver by nine.
The game began with early scoring from Janowski, Nolan Minessale, and Isaiah Johnson-Arigu to give St. Thomas a brief lead. However, Denver responded with a strong run to build a nine-point advantage late in the first half. St. Thomas countered with back-to-back three-pointers from Jermaine Coleman and Ben Oosterbaan as part of a 17-6 run that gave them a 39-37 halftime lead.
In the second half, St. Thomas extended its lead to nine points after consecutive layups from Janowski and Minessale, followed by three-pointers from Carter Bjerke. Despite this, Denver rallied to tie the game at 66 before both teams traded leads in the final minutes.
With less than ten seconds remaining, Denver hit a decisive three-pointer to take an 82-80 lead. A last-second attempt by St. Thomas did not connect.
Janowski is now just three rebounds away from breaking the program’s Division I-era single-season record of 154 set by Raheem Anthony in 2023-24. Ryan Dufault played his 127th career game for St. Thomas, setting a new Division I-era record for games played and adding 13 points on efficient shooting.
Minessale scored ten points and matched the program’s single-season assist record of 126 set by Drake Dobbs during the previous season; he is also nearing his career milestone of 1,000 points.
Carter Bjerke contributed ten points and made three shots from beyond the arc; he is two shy of tying Riley Miller’s program record for career threes (188). Johnson-Arigu and Oosterbaan also finished with ten points each.
St. Thomas held significant advantages in rebounding (37-28) and points in the paint (46-26), but struggled at the free throw line compared to Denver’s accuracy (8-of-20 vs. Denver’s 17-of-20).
This contest marked their final Summit League matchup as Denver will join another conference beginning with the 2026–27 season.
St. Thomas will finish its regular season at home against North Dakota State on Thursday night before hosting Omaha on Saturday for Senior Night.
