Box Score (CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky.)-RV Thomas More University men's basketball team defeated UT Southern on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 20), 86-83 in overtime. The Saints overall record improves to 5-1 and 2-0 in the conference.
- Redshirt junior Ryan Batte (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) started things of for the Saints making a free throw to get the Saints on the board with 19:21 on the clock (0-1).
- First year Casey George (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington) made a layup to give the Saints a 19-18 lead with 11:37 to go in the first half.
- With 3:55 to play in the first half, George would get a steal from the Firehawks on an inbound, to go up for a layup and one to tie the game up (29-29).
- Batte would make a layup with 26 seconds left in the first half to cut the Firehawks lead to one going into the locker room (37-36).
- Batte led with 14 points and three assists and had one rebound and a block to lead the Saints in the first half.
- First year Wyatt Vieth (Hebron, Ky./Saint Henry) recorded five rebounds to lead the Saints.
- The Saints were 63.6% (14-22) from the field, 33.3% (3-9) from the 3-point line, and 55.6% (5-9) from the free throw line.
- To kick off the second half, graduate student Luke Rudy (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) sank two free throws to start the scoring off for the Saints in the second half (38-37) and start the Saints 7-0 run.
- With 5:22 to play, graduate student Garren Bertsch (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) swished in a 3-point jump shot to extend the Saints lead to 65-59.
- Sophomore Noah Pack (Georgetown, Ohio/Georgetown) made two free throws with 1:26 left to make it a 75-70 game.
- The Firehawks would tie things up with two seconds left to take the game into overtime.
- The Saints were 52% (13-25) from the field, 30% (3-10) from the 3-point line, and 83.3% (10-12) from the free throw line in the second half.
- With 3:38 on the clock in overtime, Batte would make the first two of his nine made free throws in overtime to put the Saints up by two (79-77).
- Batte would drive in a layup and one with 15 seconds left to win the Saints the game, 86-83.
- The Saints were 20% from the field and 100% from the free throw line in overtime.
- Batte tallied 36 points, six rebounds, and five assists to lead the Saints across the board.
- Pack followed with 14 points, five rebounds, two assists, and three blocks.
- Rudy recorded 13 points and four rebounds.
- Vieth also recorded six rebounds to lead the Saints and had four points.
- The Saints were 53.8% from the field, 27.3% from the 3-point, and 80% from the free throw line.
The Saints return to the court Nov. 29 to take on Miami-Middletown at 7:00 pm ET in the Connor Convocation Center.
