HOUSTON – The Celts of the University of St. Thomas resumed play Sunday after an eight-day holiday break and defeated Johnson & Wales (Colo.) 88-51 in their Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference home opener.

Nathan Thormaehlen (SR/Katy, Texas) recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Freddie Ricks III (SO/Cypress, Texas) chipped in 13 points of his own as the Celts remained undefeated with a 9-0 record for the season.

UST's Christian Alaekwe (JR/Fresno, Texas) scored eight points off the UST bench; Cameron Gims (SO/Cypress, Texas) and Nathan Ghavidel (FR/Boerne, Texas) added seven points apiece for the Celts.

The teams remained close to each other for the first six minutes of the game before UST broke the contest wide open midway through the first half. A 22-5 UST run between the 14:19 and 6:34 marks of the first half gave the Celts a 35-13 lead. The Celts' lead would not dip below 19 points for the remainder of the contest.

Paul Taulton (SR/Pearland, Texas), Keaton Shaw (SR/Mont Belvieu, Texas), and Austin Arnold (FR/Katy, Texas) scored six points apiece for the Celts.

The Celts remained in a first-place tie atop the SCAC standings with Southwestern (Texas) and Centenary (La.) with identical 3-0 conference records.

UST outscored Johnson & Wales 50-16 in points in the paint and enjoyed a 16-2 advantage in fast-break points.

The Celts return to action Monday, Dec. 30, when they host Colorado College. Tipoff is scheduled for noon at UST's Jerabeck Center.