MARIETTA, Ohio — St. Thomas did not have the lineup it expected as the Tommies opened the 2017-18 season.

The Tommies (1-0) were already without three regular players because of injuries, and then they lost starting guard John Veil before St. Thomas faced Dickinson Friday night.

The 2106 NCAA Division III National Champs didn't seem fazed a bit as St. Thomas held off a pesky Dickinson squad for a 73-68 in the third game of the Great Lakes Invitational at Marietta College's Ban Johnson Arena.

"It was a fun game. We're young, and we're going to have a lot of growing pains, but I'm thrilled to get a victory," said St. Thomas coach Johnny Tauer. "This speaks to the depth of our program. We come in the locker room (before the game), and John Veil says he can't go. I thought it was a funny joke for a senior point guard to play."

A big reason St. Thomas was able to get the win, and calm down the younger players was the leadership of senior forward Ryan Boll and junior guard GT Johnson. Boll is in his third season as a starter for the Tommies.

"We kept talking to them and trying to keep them calm," said Boll, who had a monster game with 18 points and 15 rebounds. "They're a mature group of kids with good basketball knowledge. This was a learning experience for all of us."

Johnson said he just kept telling his teammates they were going to make some mistakes.

"It's their first career game, and they are going to make a mistake," Johnson said. "I thought we handled the end of the game really well."

After St. Thomas built as much as a 14-point lead in the second half, Dickinson (0-1) chipped away and pulled to within one with 30 seconds to play. However, the Tommies scored the final four points for the win.

"They were running some young guys out there, and I know they were short-handed," Dickinson coach Alan Seretti said. "It's a statement about their program, whoever runs out there for them is going to be good. We knew they were good."

Seretti said he was proud of how his team fought, but the Red Devils weren't looking for any moral victories.

"We're an experienced team, but I thought we looked a little inexperienced at times," he said. "The guys fight and always do, and we gave ourselves a chance. That's why we came here. When we were told we would play St. Thomas we thought that was great. We'll play anybody, anywhere. We're trying to do something more, and you have to challenge yourself."

Junior forward Elijah Wright paced the Red Devils with 18 points and three assists.

"We have a lot of expectations for ourselves. We're used to fighting back," Wright said. "That's a great team and fundamentally sound. But we can't be tied at the half and go down that much (in the second half)."

Sophomore guard Bryce Allen added 13 points and four assists for Dickinson, while 6-foot-7 senior forward Justus Melton, a first team All-Centennial Conference selection last year, had 12 points and 11 rebounds.

"It's an honor to play here. All of these teams are great. This is where we want to be level-wise," Allen said. "Tomorrow we have to go out and show we are capable of playing."

Following a 19-8 season, St. Thomas was picked to finish third in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

"I think we're excited because these guys are eager to improve," Tauer said. "This program is built on defense and unselfishness, and we talk a lot about adaptability."