After Tommie Bryan Schnettler tied the game at 91-91 with a three-pointer with 15 second remaining, The Pipers (6-12, 4-9 in the MIAC) inbounded the ball to point guard Sam Wiener, who weaved through traffic. He hit Aukes cutting from the left wing towards the hoop. Aukes then hung in the air and rattled home a reverse layup to give Hamline the final margin.
Tommie Neal Anderson's three-pointer to win the game rimmed out as time expired.
Aukes led the Pipers with 26 points on 7 of 11 shooting from the field. He also added 10 of 11 from the free throw line. The senior scored 12 points in the first seven minutes of the game as Hamline built a 20-8 advantage.
Aukes led five Pipers in double figures. Junior Ryan Montgomery scored 21 points on 7 of 11 shooting - 5 of 7 from three-point range. Junior Jesse Hendricks and senior Paul Muenchow each totaled 11 points. Sophomore Kyle Foster netted 10 points. Wiener had nine points and five assists.
Hamline held a 44-31 lead at halftime after leading by as many as 17 points. Hamline shot 49 percent from the floor (17-35) - 7 of 15 from beyond the arc- in the first 20 minutes.
The Pipers led 91-83 with 1:28 left before the Tommies (11-6, 11-2) clawed back into the game with an 8-0 run. Anderson hit a three to the cut the lead to five. Schnettler added two free throws before hitting the three to tie the score at 91-91. St. Thomas shot 57 percent in the second half (21-37).
Schnettler led the Tommies with 26 points. Anderson added 24 points. Forward Joey Shimek chipped in 13 points while point guard Sean Sweeney had 12. The Pipers held the Tommies leading scorer Isaac Rosefelt to just seven points and seven rebounds.