Hot second-half shooting and a domination on the boards led St. Thomas over the Central men’s basketball team in last night’s opening round of the Division III national tournament, 78 – 66. The score was tied at 30 at intermission, with the game going back-and-forth for the entire 20 minutes. The Tommies shot 18-for-30 from the field in the final period, and out-rebounded the Dutch, 22 – 11 in the half to come away victorious. Central shot 42% for the game, but a monster effort from St. Thomas’ Ryan Saarela put the game a bit too out of reach for the young Dutch. He went 11-for-14 from the field and scored 25 points, more than double his season average coming into play. Central had four players in double-figures, led by Pete Walker’s 16, Kyle Smith had 11 off the bench, Tate Handsaker scored ten, and Colby Taylor notched yet another double-double with 13 points and ten rebounds. Coach Craig Douma says he is immensely proud of his young team, and that the mood after the loss was, in a way, strange. That all starts in the weight room, adds Douma, and they should be a force to be reckoned with for the 2016-17 season. The Dutch ended with a 19 – 10 overall record.

Tags: