Box Score (CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky.)-No. 2 seed Thomas More University men's basketball team make program history defeating No. 7 seed Stillman (Ala.) 80-67 on Saturday evening (March 12) to advance to the 2022 NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship Round of 16 in Kansas City, Mo. The Saints overall record improves to 29-4 for the best record in program history.
- Redshirt junior Ryan Batte (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) made a jump shot to kick things off for the Saints and put them on the board to tie the game up at 2-2 with 18:25 on the clock.
- First year transfer Jacob Jones (Jeffersonville, Ind./Jeffersonville) drove to the basket for a layup to put the Saints up 15-8 with 12:13 to play in the first half.
- With 8:16 to play in the first half, sophomore Noah Pack (Georgetown, Ohio/Georgetown) dunked the ball in to extend the Saints lead to 21-18.
- Sophomore Reid Jolly (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) would make a layup for the Saints final basket of the half to make it a 11 point game with 17 seconds to play (39-28).
- The Saints would go into the locker room up 39-30 at the half.
- Batte would lead the team with 12 points and four rebounds in the first half and had one assist.
- Jones would lead the team with four rebounds and two assists and had two points.
- Graduate Student Garren Bertsch (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) also tallied two assists to lead the Saints in the first half.
- Jolly recorded 11 points, three rebounds, and one assist.
- Pack had eight points, three rebounds, and one assist.
- The Saints were 48.3% (14-29) from the field, 41.7% (5-12) from the 3-point line, and 85.7% (6-7) from the free throw line in the first half.
- Graduate student Luke Rudy (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) hit a 3-point jump shot to start the second half off for the Saints to make it a 42-32 game with 19:19 on the clock.
- Batte would drive to the rim for a layup with 10:07 on the clock to make it a 58-48 game.
- Pack made a layup to with 5:05 on the clock to extend the Saints lead to 65-57.
- Batte would sink two free throws to secure the Saints win over the Tigers (80-67).
- Jolly led the Saints with 10 points and had one rebound and one assist.
- Rudy followed with nine points and led the team in assists with two in the second half.
- Bertsch also tallied two assists to lead the Saints.
- Batte led the team defensively bringing down six rebounds and had nine points and one assist.
- The Saints were 55.6% (15-27) from the field, 27.3% (3-11) from the 3-point line, and 80% (8-10) from the free throw line in the second half.
- Batte led the Saints with 20 points and 10 rebounds and had two assists.
- Jolly also led with 20 points and had four rebounds and two assists.
- Bertsch led the Saints with four assists and had six points and one assist.
- Rudy tallied 12 points, three rebounds, and two assists.
- Pack recorded 12 points, five rebounds, and one assist.
- Jones had five points, six rebounds, and two assists.
- The Saints were 51.8% (29-56) from the field, 34.8% (8-23) from the 3-point line, and 82.4% (14-17) from the free throw line.
The Saints return to the court on March 17 or March 18 against SAGU in Kansas City, Mo.
