Thomas More Holds Off Marian in Overtime 78-76

(INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.) - The Thomas More University men's basketball team earned an overtime road win on Thursday night (November 14), edging past Marian University 78-76 to remain unbeaten and improve to 5-0.

• Thomas More raced out to a 10-0 lead, with two layups by sophomore Ryan Batte (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills), and two three-pointers by Garren Bertsch (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County).
• Keegan Saben (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) made a three-pointer with 15:01 left in the first half to put the Saints up 13-2, giving them their biggest lead of the game at 11 points.
• Bertsch made his third three-pointer of the half with 10:48 remaining, giving the Saints a 16-10 lead.
• A Batte three-pointer with 4:47 left in the half extended Thomas More's lead to 31-24.
• Batte had a team-high 11 points in the first half as the Saints took a 33-32 lead at halftime.
• Thomas More shot 57.1% from the field in the first half, including 6-10 from three-point range, and outrebounded Marian 14-10.

• Bertsch scored the Saints' first four points of the half.
• Marian built a five-point lead when Luke Rudy (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) made a layup with 14:28 remaining to cut the deficit to three.
• Marian led 49-44 before Reid Jolly (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) made back-to-back layups to make cut the Knights' lead to one with 10:16 to play.
• Trailing by one with 1:34 remaining, Batte hit a three-pointer to give the Saints a 70-68 lead before Marian tied the game to send it to overtime.
• Jolly scored 15 points in the second half on 5-6 shooting from the field and 4-4 free throws.
• The Saints shot 60.9% from the field in the second half, inclduing 3-3 from three-point range.

• Max Knisley (Washington Court House, Ohio/Washington) started overtime with a three-pointer to give the Saints a 73-70 lead.
• A pair of Batte free throws extended Thomas More's lead to 75-70 with 2:57 left.
• After Marian scored six straight points to tie the game at 76, Jolly made a layup with 38 seconds left for the game's final points as the Saints defense held on for the win.

• Thomas More improved to 6-0 with the win and with a forfeit win over Cincinnati Christian University this coming Sunday, while the Knights fell to 3-1.
• The Saints made 28-50 field goal attempts (56.0%) and 10-14 three-pointers (71.4%). 
• Thomas More outrebounded Marian 31-28.
• Jolly led the Saints with 19 points on 7-10 shooting and six rebounds.
• Batte scored 16 points and added four assists.
• Rudy finished with 13 points and five rebounds.
• Bertsch scored 13 points and made three three-pointers with five rebounds.
• Knisley led the Saints with six assists and added four rebounds.

• Thomas More will return home for the Coach Connor Classic on November 22-23. The Saints' first game will be against Kent State-Tuscarawas on Friday, November 22 at 7:30 p.m. at the Connor Convocation Center.