Box Score (PIKEVILLE, Ky.) — The Thomas More University men's basketball team kept pace with No. 4 University of Pikeville before coming up just short, 68-64, in the final seconds in a road Mid-South Conference matchup on Monday night (January 6, 2020).
- A Garren Bertsch (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) three-pointer gave the Saints a 10-4 lead with 15:02 left in the half.
- Bertsch converted a three-point play with 10:56 remaining, giving Thomas More its largest lead of the half at 16-9.
- After the Bears rallied to take the lead, a Noah Pack (Georgetown, Ohio/Georgetown) basket put the Saints back on top 23-22 with 2:41 to go.
- Another basket by Pack extended the lead to 28-22 with 1:34 left in the half before Pikeville came back to tie the game.
- Bertsch led the Saints with 11 first-half points on 4-of-6 shooting (66.7 percent) and two rebounds.
- Thomas More was 11-of-23 (47.8 percent) from the field and 2-of-6 (33.3 percent) from three-point range in the first half.
- The Saints and Bears continued to battle to start the second half, with Reid Jolly (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) scoring six points in the first 10 minutes of the half as Pikeville held a narrow 42-40 lead with 10:12 remaining.
- The Bears then pulled away with a 12-2 run, extending their lead to 54-42 before Bertsch broke up the run with a three-pointer with 5:52 left to cut the lead back to single digits.
- Pikeville led 60-50 with 3:46 to go, but Thomas More went on a 7-0 run, with a Luke Rudy (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) three and baskets by Bertsch and Jolly, to make it a one-possession game with 1:41 left to play.
- Max Knisley (Washington Court House, Ohio/Washington) made it a two-point game with a three-pointer with 31 seconds left to cut Pikeville's lead to 64-62.
- After a pair of Bears free throws, Jolly made a layup with an assist from Knisley to bring the Saints back to within two at 66-64 with 18 seconds left before Pikeville made another pair of free throws to put the game out of reach.
- The Saints were 15-of-29 (51.7 percent) from the field in the second half and 3-of-11 (27.3 percent) from beyond the arc in the second half.
- Thomas More fell to 12-3 overall and 0-3 in Mid-South Conference play, while Pikeville improved to 15-1 overall and 3-1 in the conference.
- The Bears shot just 13-of-20 (65.0 percent) from the foul line, but made 6-of-6 attempts in the final two minutes to close out the Saints.
- Thomas More shot 26-of-52 (50.0 percent) from the field and 5-of-17 (29.4 percent) from three-point range.
- The Saints outrebounded the Bears 31-30.
- Jolly tied for the game-high with 20 points on 9-of-19 shooting and led the Saints with six rebounds.
- Bertsch also scored 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting.
- Rudy added eight points for the Saints.
- Knisley had a team-high seven assists, with five points and four rebounds.
- Thomas More will return home to host No. 1 Georgetown College, the defending NAIA national champions, on Thursday (January 9). Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. at the Connor Convocation Center.
