Box Score (CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky.) - Senior guard D'Carlo Hayes (Louisville, Ky./Male) made a lay-up as the buzzer sounded to give the second-seeded Thomas More College men's basketball team a 70-68, win over seventh-seeded Grove City College tonight (Tuesday, February 25, 2014) in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament quarterfinal game at the Connor Convocation Center in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.
With the win, the Saints improve to 14-11 and advance to play ninth-seeded Geneva College on Thursday (February 27) at 7 p.m. in a semifinal game at the Connor Convocation Center. Geneva upset top-seeded Bethany College, 61-59, tonight in another quarterfinal game. With the loss, the Wolverines end the season at 10-15.
Thomas More jumped out to a 12-5 lead when freshman guard/forward Nate McGovney (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) made a three-pointer with 13:48 to play in the opening half. Grove City answered with a 17-8 run to take a 22-20 lead with 6:27 to play in the half when Josh Patterson made a jumper. The Saints closed out the half on an 11-9 run to tie the game at 31-31 at halftime.
The Saints opened the second half on a 30-19 run to build a 61-50 lead with 7:57 to play in the game when Hayes made two free-throws. The Wolverines responded with a 16-2 run to take a 66-63 lead on a Mitch Marmelstein jumper with 2:53 to play in the game. Thomas More closed out the half on a 7-2 run capped by Hayes' lay-up at the buzzer to give the Saints a 70-68 victory.
Three Saints reached double-figure scoring as junior guard/forward Drew Mumford (Louisville, Ky./Christian Academy) had a team-high 21 points, Hayes added 13 and McGovney finished with 12. Mumford led the team on the boards with a game-high eight rebounds, while Hayes and senior guard Spencer Berlekamp (Cincinnati, Ohio/Kings) led the team in assists with four each.
