Box Score (BOWLING GREEN, Ky.) — The 18th-ranked and third-seeded Thomas More University men's basketball team outshot the 14th-ranked and second-seeded University of the Cumberlands in a 77-67 win on Sunday night (March 8, 2020) in the semifinals of the Mid-South Conference Tournament at Bowling Green Arena.
- Senior guard Max Knisley (Washington Court House, Ohio/Washington) opened the scoring for the Saints with a three-pointer with 18:19 left in the half to give them a 3-2 lead.
- The Saints conceded the lead when they fell behind 8-7 with 16:18 remaining, and a jumper and a three-pointer by Noah Pack (Georgetown, Ohio/Georgetown) on consecutive possessions kept the Saints within one at 19-18 with 8:51 to play in the half.
- Thomas More regained the lead on a Luke Rudy (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) three with 8:28 left to put the Saints up 21-19.
- After the Patriots tied the game, another Knisley three-pointer gave the Saints a 24-21 lead with 7:03 left.
- Three-pointers on back-to-back possessions by Rudy and Pack allowed Thomas More to extend its lead to 33-28 with 3:08 left.
- Baskets by Reid Jolly (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County), Tyrice Walker (Hamilton, Ohio/Summit Country Day) and Pack fueled a 6-2 run that opened the Saints' lead to 41-32 with 56 seconds left in the half.
- Junior Keegan Saben (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) hit a shot at the buzzer to end the first half with the Saints on top 43-34.
- Thomas More shot 59.3 percent (16-of-27) from the field in the opening period and 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from beyond the arc.
- Pack led the Saints with 10 points off the bench in the half.
- Jolly tallied eight points and five rebounds in the half.
- Rudy and Knisley scored six points each.
- Thomas More opened the second half on an 8-2 run, including four points from Jolly, to extend its lead to 51-36 with 17:53 to play.
- Cumberlands answered with a 10-3 run to cut the Saints' lead to 57-51 with 11:13 remaining.
- A Rudy three-pointer pushed the lead back into double-digits at 64-53 with 9:27 to go.
- The Patriots closed to within six points before a Jolly basket put Thomas More up 68-60 with 4:04 left.
- Sophomore Ryan Batte (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) scored the Saints' next five points as they extended their lead to 73-64 with 1:09 to go.
- Saben and Batte each sank a pair of free throws in the final minute to close out a 77-67 win.
- The Saints shot 54.5 percent (12-of-22) from the field and 40.0 percent (4-of-10) from three-point range in the second half.
- Batte had nine points and four rebounds in the half.
- Jolly had eight points and six rebounds in the half.
- Rudy scored eight points in the second half.
- Thomas More improved to 26-6 and extended its winning streak to 11 games, while Cumberlands dropped to 24-8.
- For the game, Thomas More shot 57.1 percent (28-of-49) from the field.
- The Saints made 43.5 percent (10-of-23) of their three-point attempts while holding the Patriots to just 9.1 percent (1-of-11) from beyond the arc.
- Jolly was named the Player of the Game by the Mid-South as he posted a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds with two blocks.
- Rudy finished with 14 points and knocked down four three-pointers, adding four rebounds and three blocks.
- Batte had 11 points and five rebounds.
- Pack scored 12 points for the Saints.
- Saben finished with six points and five rebounds.
- Thomas More will face top-seeded No. 2 Georgetown College tomorrow (March 9) in the Mid-South Conference Tournament championship game at 9 p.m. Eastern/8 p.m. Central at Bowling Green Arena.
