Box Score Crestview Hills, Ky. - The men's basketball program at Thomas More defeated Cumberland University 70-66 in a tight MSC showdown. With the win the Saints improve to 17-2 on the year and 11-1 in Mid-South Conference play.
- Cumberland took an early 4-0 lead before sophomore forward Noah Pack (Georgetown, Ohio/Georgetown) splashed home a three-pointer to make the score 4-3 Cumberland at the 17:32 mark.
- At the 13:49 mark redshirt junior Ryan Batte (Cincinnati, Ohio//Oak Hills) would be found cutting on a layup by first-year guard Jacob Jones (Jeffersonville, Ind./Jeffersonville) to cut Cumberland's lead to 9-7.
- Graduate student Garren Bertsch (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) would score four points as the lefty would convert an and-one and make an administrative technical free throw to give the Saints lead of 13-12 with 11:57 to go in the half.
- Sophomore guard Reid Jolly (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) would get his shot going at the 10:36 mark with a turnaround jumper to give Thomas More a 17-12 advantage.
- Batte would help stop the Phoenix's run with an elbow jumper to give the Saints a 29-25 lead with 4:37 to go in the first half.
- Pack would close out the first half by backing his defender down in the lane and hitting a hook shot to give Thomas More a 36-32 advantage heading into the locker rooms.
- To start the second half Pack would find Batte on a back door cut to increase the Saints lead to 38-34 with 18:11 to go in regulation.
- Jones would increase Thomas More's lead back to six as the young guard would rise over his defender for two, making the score 42-36.
- Jolly would score on back-to-back possessions, giving the Saints a 53-44 lead with 12:23 remaining.
- First-year Casey George (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington North) would enter the post using a nice post spin move to add two to Thomas More's score, making the lead seven at 57-50.
- Cumberland cut the lead to two with just over four minutes to go in the ballgame until Batte would once again hit a tough jump shot over his defender to make the score 63-59 in favor of the Saints.
- Graduate student Luke Rudy (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) would pick the perfect time to score his first basket as the guard hit a corner three to help Thomas More re-take the lead at 66-64 with 1:15 to go.
- Batte would then ice the game by scoring the final four points for the Saints to garner a 70-66 win.
- Batte continued to have the hot hand for Thomas More finishing with 25 points, five rebounds, and two assists.
- Jolly had arguably his best game of the year for the Saints, putting up 18 points and snagging four boards.
- Pack the team in rebounding with nine and Jones led the team in assists with five.
- The team shot 51.7% from the field on 31-60 shooting.
The men's basketball team will return to the court on Monday, January 24, when they travel to Georgetown, Kentucky to take on Georgetown in a NAIA top-25 matchup, tipoff is set for 6 p.m. ET.
