(COLUMBIA, Ky.) – The Thomas More University men's basketball team won their fifth straight game this afternoon, defeating the Lindsey Wilson College Blue Raiders 78-72. This moves them to 14-2 overall and 9-2 in the Mid-South Conference.
- The Saints took a quick eight-point lead at 14-6, with the help of six points from Reid Jolly (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) and Wyatt Vieth (Hebron, Ky./Saint Henry).
- The Blue Raiders stormed back with a 10-0 run to take a 16-14 lead with 12:19 to play in the first half.
- Both teams continued to trade points throughout the remainder of the half, with neither team gaining a lead of more than three points.
- Lindsey Wilson held a slight 33-32 advantage at the halftime break.
- Neither team could grab the momentum at the start of the second half either, with the Blue Raiders leading 43-42 with 15:42 remaining in the game.
- Thomas More than completely took the game away from Lindsey Wilson over the next six minutes, going on a 22-4 run to break it open at 64-47.
- Redshirt Junior Noah Pack (Georgetown, Ohio/Georgetown) led the Saints with six points during this stretch while Casey George (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington North) and Vieth both scored five points.
- The Saints continued to hold a strong lead throughout the remainder of the game, until a slight scare at the end of the contest.
- Leading 76-59 with 2:22 to play, the Blue Raiders ended the game on a 13-2 flurry to cut the final score to 78-72.
- They knocked down a trio of three-pointers within the last minute of the game, but it wasn't enough in the Thomas More victory.
- Jolly led the Saints with 25 points, his eighth game this season with 20 or more points and fourth with 25 or more points. He went 12-17 from the field.
- Vieth (15p), Pack (14p), and George (12p) all joined Jolly with double-digit points in the contest.
- Pack led the Saints with seven rebounds, seven assists, and two blocks.
- The Saints shot 58.8% (30-51) from the field in the game and 66.7% (18-27) in the second half.
- They have now shot 50% or better in eight games this season.
- They shot 41.7% from beyond the arc, their fourth-best mark of the season and eighth game shooting 40% or better from deep.
- The team dished out 16 assists this afternoon, tying their second most this season (Roosevelt University – Dec. 30).
The Saints look to keep their winning streak intact when they travel to Tennessee to take on the Cumberland University Phoenix Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. CT.
Thomas More beat the Phoenix 70-63 in their first meeting in Crestview Hills on Dec. 3 and have won five straight games in the series.
