KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Interstat) — In a display of offensive firepower and defensive pressure, the Saint Thomas Tommies delivered a commanding 104-64 victory over the Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos in a Summit League men’s basketball game Saturday night at Municipal Auditorium.

The Tommies, who improved to 21-7 overall and solidified their position near the top of the conference standings, left little doubt from the opening tip. They built a 43-29 halftime lead before erupting for 61 points in the second half, consistently breaking down the Kangaroos’ defense with crisp ball movement and efficient scoring.

The most important part of the game was the Tommies’ decisive and sustained run that spanned the end of the first half and the beginning of the second, effectively putting the contest out of reach. After UMKC’s Kasheem Grady hit an alley-oop to pull the Kangaroos within 14 points with just 10 seconds left before halftime, Saint Thomas responded. They drew a foul and converted free throws to end the period, then opened the second half with a 15-3 surge over the first four minutes. This stretch, highlighted by a Nolan Minessale dunk and a Ben Oosterbaan three-pointer, extended the lead to 58-32 and silenced any notion of a home team rally. The Kangaroos, who fell to 4-22, never recovered, as the Tommies’ lead ballooned to as many as 40 points.

Nolan Minessale, a 6-foot-5 guard from Brookfield, Wisconsin, was the catalyst for Saint Thomas. He finished with a game-high 25 points, adding five assists, a block and a steal in just 23 minutes of action. His performance continued a streak of dominant outings, coming off a 28-point game against Oral Roberts and a 26-point effort at South Dakota State earlier in the month.

Minessale was far from a solo act. Ben Oosterbaan of Hinsdale, Illinois, contributed 17 points, while Isaiah Johnson-Arigu of Maple Grove, Minnesota, added 15 points, many coming on strong finishes inside. Jermaine Coleman of Indianapolis chipped in 14 points, and Nick Janowski of Pewaukee, Wisconsin, scored 11. The Tommies’ balanced attack overwhelmed UMKC, as they scored 52 points in the paint and converted 20 points off Kangaroos turnovers.

Missouri-Kansas City was led by Chris Dockery of Las Vegas, who scored 13 points. Jayson Petty of Phoenix added 10 points, and Jerome Palm of Almere, Netherlands, along with U’Riyah Evans of Killeen, Texas, each scored eight. The Kangaroos struggled to find consistent offense, shooting poorly from the floor and failing to keep pace with the Tommies’ transition game, which produced 17 fastbreak points.

The game was a rematch of a meeting just two weeks prior in St. Paul, where Saint Thomas secured a 99-64 win. This result followed a similar script, with the Tommies again winning by a 40-point margin. According to Interstat’s ELO system, Saint Thomas entered with a 91.5 percent probability to win, a forecast the Tommies emphatically fulfilled in front of an announced crowd of 773.

Saint Thomas now looks ahead to a key road test at Denver next Saturday. Missouri-Kansas City will try to regroup on the road, traveling to face North Dakota on Thursday.