ROCK ISLAND, Illinois — A 12-point second half from guard Grant Shaeffer vaulted the St. Thomas men’s basketball team into the Elite Eight following its 99-73 dismantling of Whitman College at the Roy J. Carver Center at Augustana College Friday night.

The junior shot four of seven from the field and nailed nine of 11 of his free throws. He also added four assists and three rebounds in 34 minutes of work.

“In the second half we were moving the ball more. I got to the free throw line, got some points going there,” Shaeffer said. “It was just the flow of the game, and I just tried to be patient.”

Schaeffer’s first half was overshadowed by a stellar performance from fellow guard Cortez Tillman, who said it was one of the best first halves he’s ever played. Tillman connected on six of his nine shots, including five of five from behind the arc. Coach John Tauer’s squad shot 63 percent from the floor in the first half, including eight of 10 on 3-pointers.

It looked as though Tillman would break his season-high of 24 points, but that possibility came to a screeching halt in the second half when Tillman missed all four of his shots. Tillman attributes the Tommies’ big lead and his teammates’ performance for the drop in offensive output.

“More just managing the game; we really didn’t need to score,” Tillman said.

Center Ryan Saarela and forward Jimmy Remke were reliable sources for points and rebounds in the second half. Saarela and Remke each knocked in 10 points with Saarela hauling in all six of his rebounds in the half. St. Thomas ended the game out-rebounding Whitman 41-31. The Tommies’ dangerous outside threats assisted in Saarela’s success.

“Since (Tillman) was so hot in the first half and (Montero) has been knocking down threes all year, they got out and denied more,” Saarela said. “It opened up a lot of driving lanes to get to the basket.”

No. 8-ranked St. Thomas widened its lead over No. 11-ranked Whitman after reaching the double bonus with 13:22 left in the second half — a result of the Missionaries’ physical full-court press, a staple for Northwest Conference Coach of the Year Eric Bridgeland. Whitman managed to force St. Thomas to turn the ball over 10 times.

“Obviously with the cushion that we had at halftime, I think we knew they were going to come out physically and aggressively, like they should,” Tauer said. “We talked about being strong with the ball…I think they were prepared for that pressure and did well.”

The Tommies’ (27-3 overall) defense held the Missionaries (24-5 overall) to 41 percent from the field for the game, including five of 18 from behind the arc. Whitman’s leading scorer was Northwest Conference First Team honoree guard Tim Howell. The sophomore chalked up 13 points on six of 17 shooting. Guard Austin Butler reached 11 points.

In the program’s first time reaching the national tournament, Whitman reached the Sweet Sixteen with wins over Chapman University and No. 3-ranked Whitworth University. This is the third time in three years St. Thomas has defeated Whitman, with the first two coming in the past two regular seasons.

Tauer’s team hasn’t reached the Elite Eight since the 2012-13 season when the Tommies were upended 74-67 by Mary Hardin-Baylor in the national semifinal.

St. Thomas will square off with No. 1-ranked Augustana Saturday at 7 p.m. The first round of the 2013-14 national tournament is the last time these two teams met, with the Vikings defeating the Tommies 88-77.

“Probably as physically dominant as a team in Division III I’ve seen in 15 years,” Tauer said of Augustana. “We’re honored to be here. We’re thrilled to get a chance to play tomorrow — give it our best shot.”

Jesse Krull can be reached at krul7386@stthomas.edu.