Local College BB…St Thomas, UMD lose

(Seattle, WA/Minnesota News Network) — The season came to a close for the St. Thomas men’s basketball team in its first-ever Division I postseason last night in Seattle. The host Redhawks knocked off the Tommies 67-52 in the opening round of the N-I-T. St. Thomas led by one at halftime 31-30, but Seattle controlled the second half, outscoring the Tommies 37-21 after the break. Nolan Minessale led St. Thomas with 15 points, while Nick Janowski added ten points and Ben Oosterbaan pulled down nine rebounds. Seattle was paced by Brayden Maldonado’s 15 points and five assists. The loss closes the Tommies’ season at 24-10, finishing second in the Summit League standings. Seattle improves to 21-13 and advances to the N-I-T second round to face Auburn. St. Thomas now heads into the offseason after its winningest Division I campaign to date.

(Topeka, KS/Minnesota News Network) — The Minnesota-Duluth men’s basketball team saw its season come to an end in the N-C-A-A Division II Sweet 16 after losing to Oklahoma Baptist last night 80-76 in Topeka, Kansas. The Bulldogs were led by junior guard Caleb Siwek of Rosemount, who scored 26 points. U-M-D trailed by 13 at the half before outscoring the Bison by nine in the second half. Minnesota-Duluth finishes the season at 23-12, while Oklahoma Baptist improved to 30-3 and heads to next week’s D-II Elite Eight. Meanwhile, the U-M-D women will play in next Tuesday’s D-II Elite Eight in Pittsburgh against Colorado Mesa at 11 A-M with a berth to the Final Four on the line. The Bulldog women are 23-8, while Colorado Mesa is 36-1.