Men's Basketball Drops to Malone in G-MAC Finals

(HILLSDALE, Mich)-Thomas More University's men's basketball team fell to No. 7 seed Malone on Saturday afternoon (March 8) in the G-MAC Tournament Finals. The Saints finish their season with an overall record of 19-11 and 12-8 in conference.

• Junior Mitchell Rylee (Ft.Mitchell, Ky./Covington Catholic) dunked the ball through the net to kick things off with 19:09 on the clock (2-0).
• Senior Casey George (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington North) hit a jump shot outside the paint to put the Saints within one with 12:42 remaining in the half (6-7).
• WIth 6:10 to play in the half, redshirt first year Kai Simpson (Lexington, Ky./Frederick Douglass) drained a 3-point basket to help the Saints regain the lead (14-13).
• Junior Ryan Paris (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) knocked in a driving layup for the Saints final basket of the half with 2:35 on the clock (18-15).
• The Saints would trail 27-18 going into the locker room at the half.
• Casey George led with six points and one assist and had three rebounds.
• Kai SImpson also tallied six points to lead the team and had six rebounds for a team high in the first half.
• The Saints were 26.7% (8-30) from the field, 12.5% (1-8) from the 3-point line, and 50% (1-2) from the free throw line.

• Casey George made a turnaround jump shot to get things started for the Saints in the second half with 19:00 to play (20-30).
• Kai Simpson drove to the rim for a layup to cut the Pioneers lead to 10 with 16:21 remaining (27-37).
• With 12:10 to play, sophomore Carson Browne (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) made a second chance 3-point basket to make it a 35-48 game.
• Kai Simpson knocked in two free throws with 7:49 to go (47-62).
• Mitchell Rylee made a second chance tip-in layup in the paint for the Saints final basket with 13 seconds to play in the game (63-76).
• The Saints would fall 76-63 to the Pioneers.
• Casey George led with 12 points in the second half.
• Kai Simpson led the team with three rebounds and one assist and had 11 points.
• Mitchell Rylee also tallied three rebounds to lead the Saints and had three rebounds.
• The Saints were 50% (13-26) from the field, 41.7% (5-12) from the 3-point line, and 73.7% (14-19) from the free throw line in the second half.

• Casey George recorded 18 points to lead the team and had one rebound and one assist. He finished his career with 1202 points (16th All-Time Scorer), 455 rebounds, 267 assists, and 111 steals.
• Kai Simpson followed with 17 points and had a team high nine rebounds.
• Mitchell Rylee had 11 points and seven rebounds.
• Senior Wyatt Vieth (Hebron, Ky./St. Henry) had four points and three rebounds. Vieth finished his career with 939 points, 446 rebounds, 95 assists, 98 steals, and 14 blocks.
• The Saints were 37.5% (21-56) from the field, 30% (6-20) from the 3-point line, and 71.4% (15-21) from the free throw line.

The Saints return next season in their third season in the G-MAC and DII.