Box Score (BOWLING GREEN, Ky.)-No. 1 seed Thomas More University men's basketball team take down No. 4 seed Cumberland (Tenn.) 85-79 to advance to finals of the Mid-South Conference Tournament. The Saints overall record improves to 27-3.
- Redshirt junior Ryan Batte (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) kicked things off for the Saints with a jumper to put the team on the board 2-0 with 19:14 to play in the first half.
- Sophomore Noah Pack (Georgetown, Ohio/Georgetown) drained a 3-point shot to put the Saints up 19-16 with 13:31 on the clock.
- With 5:42 on the clock, sophomore Reid Jolly (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) drove to the rim for a layup to extend the Saints lead to 36-33.
- Batte would make the Saints final basket of the first half with a layup to cut the Phoenix lead to 44-57 with 1:02 to play in the half.
- The Saints would trail going into the locker room 44-50.
- First year transfer Jacob Jones (Jeffersonville, Ind./Jeffersonville) led the Saints with 14 points and six assists and had three rebounds.
- Batte followed with 13 points, four rebounds, and two assists.
- Jolly tallied 10 points, two rebounds, and one assist.
- Pack would lead the Saints bringing down six rebounds and had five points and one assist.
- The Saints were 54.5% (18-33) from the field, 14.3% (1-7) from the 3-point line, and 63.6% (7-11) from the free throw line in the first half.
- Batte started things off for the Saints in the second half with a layup to cut the Phoenix lead to 46-52 game with 19:15 to play.
- With 11:21 to play, Batte would sink a 3-point shot to put the Saints within three (60-63).
- Graduate student Luke Rudy (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) knocked in a 3-point jumper to tie the game up at 65-65 with 9:52 to go in the game.
- Jones would sink two free throws to secure the win for the Saints.
- Saints would defeat the Phoenix 85-79.
- Batte would lead the Saints in the second half with 16 points and had four rebounds.
- Jolly would follow with nine points and four rebounds.
- Jones would record nine points and one rebound and had three assists to lead the Saints in the second half.
- Pack would bring down five rebounds and had four points and two assists.
- The Saints were 54.2% (13-24) from the field, 28.6% (2-7) from the 3-point line, and 76.5% (13-17) from the free throw line in the second half.
- Batte led the Saints with 29 points and had eight rebounds and two assists to be named player of the game.
- Jones led the team with nine assists and put up 23 points and brought down four rebounds.
- Jolly would follow with 19 points, six rebounds, and one assist.
- Pack led the Saints defensively with 11 rebounds and had nine points and three assists.
- The Saints were 54.4% (31-57) from the field, 21.4% (3-14) from the 3-point line, and 71.4% (20-28) from the free throw line.
The Saints return to action tomorrow night as they take on the winner of Georgetown/Shawnee State in the finals of the MSC Tournament in Bowling Green, Ky. at 9:00 pm ET.
