St. Thomas certainly strengthened its argument as maybe the state’s best Division I men’s basketball team Wednesday.

The Tommies took down South Dakota State 73-72 in a physical, down-to-the-wire thriller between two of the top Summit League teams.

As to be expected, the game was decided late inside a packed Schoenecker Arena — the final portion of a second to be exact.

Down by one after a pair of free throws by Drake Dobbs with 13.2 seconds left, South Dakota State was just amiss in its final offensive set against an aggressive St. Thomas defense.

Trying to go through 6-11 center Oscar Cluff, who finished with 13 points and 19 rebounds and was shadowed by Carter Bjerke, the Jackrabbits ultimately kicked it out to Matthew Mors. His 3-point shot was released a few tenths of second after the final buzzer. The ball fell through the net, but officials emphatically signaled it was too late. Video review upheld the call.

A year ago, South Dakota State made a last-second shot to win at St. Thomas.

“What a college basketball game,” said St. Thomas coach Johnny Tauer. “… They’ve been, in many ways, the gold standard in this conference for a long, long time and they continue to be.”

Tied at 69, Nolan Minessale, who led St. Thomas with 17 points, made a turnaround jumper over Cluff with 38.4 seconds to play, but South Dakota State’s Owen Larson countered with a 3-pointer for a one-point lead with 22.6 ticks left.

St. Thomas likes to shoot the 3 — finishing 13 for 33 — after entering with a nearly 40% clip. It was treys by Ben Oosterbaan, Minessale and Dobbs during a 12-0 mid-second half run that gave the Tommies a 57-54 lead.

Long-distance success was needed because St. Thomas was dominated inside, outrebounded 47-25 and points in the paint were 38-24 South Dakota State. But St. Thomas had just four turnovers.

“It’s one of our core principles and we just do it,” Dobbs said.