Box Score (BOWLING GREEN, Ky.) — The No. 18 and third-seeded Thomas More University men's basketball team was defeated, 88-72, by top-seeded No. 2 Georgetown College in the championship game of the Mid-South Conference Tournament on Monday night (March 9, 2020) at Bowling Green Arena, snapping the Saints' 11-game winning streak.
- Senior guard Max Knisley (Washington Court House, Ohio/Washington) converted a four-point play in the game's opening minute when he was fouled on a made three-pointer for the Saints' first points.
- First-year Reid Jolly (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) followed with a basket to cap a 6-0 run to give Thomas More an early 6-2 lead with 17:45 left in the half.
- Noah Pack (Georgetown, Ohio/Georgetown) and Jolly made back-to-back baskets to put the Saints up 12-8 with 13:19 remaining in the half.
- The Tigers responded with a 14-0 run that ended with a Jolly bucket with 9:16 to go in the first half that cut the deficit to 22-14.
- A three-pointer by Luke Rudy (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills), followed by a three-point play by Jolly, closed the gap to five points at 31-26 with 3:43 left in the half.
- Georgetown ended the half on a 10-2 run to take a 41-28 lead into the locker room.
- Thomas More shot 48.0 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from three-point range in the first half.
- Georgetown scored the first four points of the second half before Garren Bertsch (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) and Rudy knocked down three-pointers on consecutive possessions to cut the deficit to 45-34 with 17:57 remaining.
- A Pack three with 11:11 to go kept the Saints within 11 points at 58-47, but the Tigers responded with a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 64-47 with 9:12 left.
- Rudy made a three with 2:37 remaining to draw Thomas More within 13 points at 77-64, but the Saints could not cut any more into the Tigers' lead as Georgetown pulled away for an 88-72 victory.
- Thomas More shot 50.0 percent from the field and 56.3 percent from beyond the arc in the second half.
- Thomas More dropped to 26-7 while Georgetown improved to 30-2.
- The Saints shot 49.1 percent (26-of-53) from the field and 47.8 percent (11-of-23) from three-point range, while the Tigers shot 58.1 percent (36-of-62) from the field and 33.3 percent (6-of-18) from long distance.
- Georgetown held a 26-9 edge in points off turnovers as the Saints committed 17 turnovers while the Tigers turned the ball over just six times.
- The Saints were out-scored in the paint 54-22.
- Jolly led the team with 18 points and eight rebounds.
- Rudy made five three-pointers in a 17-point performance.
- Ryan Batte (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) finished with nine points, five rebounds, and four assists.
- Bertsch totaled nine points and six rebounds.
- Pack tallied eight points for the Saints.
- Knisley had seven points and four assists.
- Thomas More will look to receive an at-large bid to the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship to be played March 18-24, 2020 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri.
- The NAIA will announce the national tournament qualifiers and bracket on Wednesday (March 11) at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central with a selection show on its Facebook page (@PlayNAIA).
