Box Score Marietta, Ga. - The men's basketball program at Thomas More took down Life University in Mid-South action on Saturday, January 29 by a score of 78-61. With the win the Saints improve to 20-2 on the year and 14-1 in MSC play.
- Life would hold Thomas More scoreless for the first four minutes until sophomore guard Reid Jolly (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) would drain a jumper off a feed from redshirt junior forward Ryan Batte (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) to make the score 4-2 in favor of Life.
- Graduate student Garren Bertsch (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) would splash home a three via a Jacob Jones (Jeffersonville, Ind./Jeffersonville) assist to give Thomas More an 8-4 lead with 13:47 to go in the first half.
- On the next possession graduate guard Luke Rudy (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) would also sink a three ball as Jones would once again be the set-up man, making the score 11-4 with 12:55 to go in the first.
- First-year guard Wyatt Vieth (Hebron, Ky./St. Henry) would check into the game and make an immediate impact for the Saints scoring five straight points to increase the lead to 16-4 with 9:46 remaining in the half.
- First-year guard Casey George (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington North) would extend Thomas More's lead to 15 by converting an old fashioned three-point play to make the score 25-10.
- Jolly would cap off the scoring in the first half for the Saints by driving past his defender for two to bring the score to 40-23 heading into the locker rooms.
- Batte would start the second half by rewarding himself with a basket after securing the rebound and scoring in the paint, making the score 42-23.
- At the 14:01 mark in the second Rudy would help grow the lead back to 16 for Thomas More after making yet another three to bring the score to 53-37.
- With just over 12 to go in regulation Batte would ensure that the game stayed out of reach by making a layup after a post move past his defender.
- Vieth and Jolly would both score over a span of 10 seconds to grow the lead to 59-42 with 10:46 remaining in the half.
- Sophomore forward Noah Pack (Georgetown, Ohio/Georgetown) would essentially ice the game with back-to-back three's with 3:07 to go to make the lead 19.
- Bertsch and Jolly would close out the game with a pair of free throws each to bring the final score to 78-61.
- Rudy led the team in points finishing with 15 with four threes.
- Jolly contributed 14 points and eight rebounds in the effort.
- Batte and George also finished in double figures with 11 each.
- Pack led the charge on the boards collecting nine.
- Jones finished the game with a career high seven assists.
- Out rebounded Life 39-33.
- The Saints bench outscored the Running Eagles bench by a 36-6 margin.
- Thomas More collected 16 second chance points compared to Life's two points.
Men's basketball will return to the Connor Convocation Center for their next contest where they will play host to Pikeville at 8 p.m. ET on February 3.
