(HILLSDALE, Mich)-Thomas More University's men's basketball team defeated No. 8 seed Cedarville on Friday evening (March 7), 72-71 in overtime of the G-MAC Tournament Semifinals to advance to their second straight G-MAC Championship. This is the Saints second year in the G-MAC. The Saints overall record improves to 19-10 and 12-8 in conference.
- Senior Casey George (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington North) made a jump shot to put the Saints on the board with 17:12 on the clock (2-8).
- With 12:57 on the clock, junior Ryan Paris (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) drained a 3-point basket to put the Saints within two (12-14).
- First year Tyler Johnson (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) made a tip-in to tie things up at 14-14 with 10:33 to play in the half.
- Casey George knocked in a 3-point basket with 5:10 remaining with to put the Saints up 26-24.
- Ryan Paris made his fifth 3-pointer of the first half and Saints final basket of the first half with 1:57 on the clock (32-27).
- The Saints and Yellow Jackets would be tied at the half 32-32.
- Ryan Paris led with 15 points and had one rebound.
- Casey George led with two assists and had nine points and four rebounds.
- Senior Wyatt Vieth (Hebron, Ky./St. Henry) also lead with two assists and had a team high with five rebounds in the first half.
- The Saints were 36.4% (12-33) from the field, 33.3% (6-18) from the 3-point line, and 100% (2-2) from the free throw line in the first half.
- Junior Mitchell Rylee (Ft. Mitchell, Ky./Covington Catholic) hit a jump shot to get things started in the second half with 19:24 to play (34-32).
- Caey George made a layup off a fast break to put the Saints up by six with 15:34 remaining (45--36).
- With 8:39 to play, Ryan Paris banged in a 3-point shot to cut the Yellow Jackets lead to one (50-51).
- Mtichell Rylee knocked in two free throws to put the Saints with three with 4:08 to play (54-57).
- Wyatt Vieth made two free throws to tie things up at 60-60 with 1:30 on the clock.
- Mitchell Rylee made one free throw to tie the game up at 62-62 for the final point of regulation to send the Saints and Yellow Jackets into overtime.
- Mitchell Rylee led with 11 points in the second half and had four rebounds and one assist.
- Casey George led with five rebounds and had seven points.
- Redshirt first year Kai Simpson (Lexington, Ky./Frederick Douglass) had seven points and two rebounds.
- The Saints were 36% (9-25) from the field, 12.5% (1-8) from the 3-point line, and 91/7% (11-12) from the free throw line in the second half.
- Mitchell Rylee made one free throw for the Saints first point of overtime to make it a three point game with 2:47 on the clock (63-66).
- Ryan Paris banged in a huge 3-point shot to put the Saints within one with 1:09 remaining (70-71).
- Mitchell Rylee made a layup to secure the Saints win over the Yellow Jackets with two seconds on the clock (72-71) to advance to the G-MAC Finals.
- Kai Simpson tallied four points to lead the team in overtime.
- Mitchell Rylee and Casey George both had two rebounds.
- The Saints were 37.5% (3-8) from the field, 20% (1-5) from the 3-point line, and 60% (3-5) from the free throw line in overtime.
- Ryan Paris led the Saints with 21 points going 7-12 from the 3-point line and had six rebounds and two assists.
- Mitchell Rylee followed with 20 points, nine rebounds, and led with three assists.
- Casey George recorded a double double to lead with 11 rebounds and had 16 points and two assists.
- Kai Simpson had 11 points and five rebounds.
- The Saints were 36.4% (24-66) from the field, 25.8% (8-31) from the 3-point line, and 84.2% (16-19) from the free throw line.
The Saints return tomorrow (March 8) against the winner of Malone/Hillsdale game at 3:00 pm ET in Hillsdale, Mich.
