Jubie Alade scored a game-high 28 points as No. 2-ranked St. John's defeated No. 3 St. Thomas 82-63 on Saturday in the championship game of the MIAC men's basketball tournament in Collegeville.
The Johnnies (25-2) avenged their lone regular-season loss and qualified automatically for the NCAA Division III tournament. The Tommies (24-3) should receive an at-large bid when the complete 64-team field is announced on Monday.
St. John's won its seventh MIAC tournament title and repeated as playoff champs for the first time since 2001.
UMAC: After upsetting top-seeded Northwestern (Rose-ville) on Wednesday, St. Scholastica (15-13) lost 92-82 to second-seeded Bethany Lutheran (21-6) in the UMAC tournament championship game in Mankato.
NSIC: Cameron Kirksey hit a jumper with five seconds left as Minnesota State Mankato (16-14) knocked off South Division top seed Sioux Falls (22-8) 60-59 to advance to Monday's NSIC tournament semifinals at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Mavericks will play Minnesota Duluth, while North Division top seed Northern State will play Minnesota State Moorhead.
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