ST. PAUL, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict basketball team came four minutes from picking up its first win against St. Thomas in the Tommies' home court in more than a decade Saturday afternoon.
 
The Bennies led by three points with less than four minutes to play Saturday in St. Paul, and tied the game with less than three minutes to play, but the 22^nd-ranked Tommies outscored CSB 9-1 in the final 2:50 as CSB fell 64-56. The loss drops the team's record to .500 at 6-6 overall and 2-5 in the MIAC.
 
After two close quarters to start the game, CSB and St. Thomas (10-3, 6-2) were tied at 38 heading into the fourth and final quarter. Maddie Schmitz scored to give CSB an early two-point lead, but the Tommies tied the score and re-gained the lead until McKenzie Holgate hit a pair of free throws and Schmitz hit a three to put the Bennies up 47-46 with 6:28 left to play.
 
The lead changed hands twice more, then Hannah Johnson hit two free throws and later scored on a layup to put CSB up three, 53-50, with 3:51 to play. A layup and a three gave UST a two-point lead, but Megan Thompson tied the score at 55 with 2:50 to play. That's when the Tommies took over, however, and a free throw from Madison Doran was the only points the Bennies scored in the final three minutes.
 
The first quarter was a low-scoring one, and the biggest lead for either team came in the final seconds of the quarter when the Tommies hit a three to take a 12-8 lead into the second quarter. UST pushed its lead to seven, 22-15, with 4:35 left in the half, but Doran scored and Sidney Schiffler hit a three to make it a two-point game, and a layup from Shae Olsen in the final 10 seconds of the half got CSB within two, 24-22.
 
Olsen tied the game to start the third quarter, and threes from Johnson and Schiffler gave the Bennies their biggest lead of the game at 30-26 with 7:07 left in the third. A layup from Schmitz later pushed the team's lead back to five, 35-30, with 4:38 to play, but the Tommies outscored CSB 8-3 to end the quarter and tie the game at 38.
 
Schmitz scored 13 points to pace CSB, which shot 36.4 percent from the field, and Doran finished with a career-high 10 points. Alex Johnson had 11 rebounds for CSB, which went 11-for-14 from the line and had 36 rebounds and 16 turnovers.
 
Brynne Rolland led all scorers with 18 points for the Tommies, who shot 43.4 percent from the field and went 11-for-20 from the line. Abby Mackenthun had seven rebounds for UST, which had 34 rebounds and just nine turnovers.
 
CSB is on the road again Wednesday, Jan. 15, when it heads to Winona to take on Saint Mary's.