Noah Kaiser and Will DeBerg each scored 14 points for the men’s basketball team as the Tommies dominated St Mary’s University Saturday afternoon at Shoenecker Arena, clinching a share of the MIAC championship in the process.

This year’s title is the seventh in a row for St. Thomas, and it guarantees the team a No.1 seed and first-round bye in the playoffs.

Saturday’s game was also senior night, and coach John Tauer said he was proud to honor Peter Leslie and Tommy Hannon and was thrilled to “send them out with a victory.”

“They both mean so much to us, they have been the heart and soul of our program in a lot of ways,” Tauer said. “So to get a win today and the conference title, it’s really a magical ending to the regular season. Now we want to build on that in the playoffs.”

Deberg, who was a key part of a 27-4 mid-game run by St. Thomas, also said it was important to win for the seniors.

“We wanted to make sure we won for our seniors, and we did a good job of doing that,” DeBerg said. “It was good to send those guys out with a win.”

Leslie said his four years in the program have been fun, and he has met a lot of great guys.

“You meet great guys, and there’s just so many of them,” Leslie said. “The guys I’m playing with right now, just a great group of guys, so unselfish. I’ve done a lot over the four years I’ve been here, so it’s been a great time, and I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

St. Thomas outscored St. Mary’s 37-7 in bench points and shot 75 percent in the second half. The Tommies also made 16-18 free throws.

The Tommies went 4-0 over the last week of the season to get a share of the title, and it gives Tauer a championship in his first season as coach.

St. Thomas will play again Friday, Feb. 24, but will not know its opponent until Wednesday night.

Josie Oliver can be reached at oliv4246@stthomas.edu