Saints fall in season finale at Kentucky Wesleyan

(OWENSBORO, KY) – The Thomas More University men's basketball team ended their season with a 75-82 loss to Kentucky Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 28). The Saints finish the season with a 12-15 overall record and a 6-14 mark against conference opponents.
 

• Redshirt sophomore Kai Simpson (Lexington, KY / Fredrick Douglass) scored the first points with back-to-back three point buckets to take an early six-point lead. However the Panthers made quick work and had a one-point lead by the first timeout at 15:58.
• The teams traded basked for the next 12 minutes. The game was tied at 30 with 4:18 to play in the first half, but Kentucky Wesleyan held the visitors scoreless during a 12-0 run. Kai Simpson hit his tenth point of the half with a driving layup with thirty seconds remaining but the Panthers held a 39-32 advantage at the half way point.
• Sophomore Jashaun Pouncy (Erlanger, KY / Randall K. Cooper) shot a perfect 5-5 from the floor to add 10 points to the effort.
• As a team, the Saints shot 12-27 (44.4%) from the floor including 4-8 from beyond the arc.

 

• After Kentucky Wesleyan took a 43-32 lead, Jashaun Pouncy, Kai Simpson, and redshirt junior Colin McHale (Cincinnati, OH / Turpin / Walsh) combined for a 10-0 run within two minutes to close the gap.
• At the 12:41 mark, freshman Daviawne Crim (Fairfield, OH / Fairfield) sank a pair of free throws to tie the game at 48. The Panthers did not allow the Saints to actually take the lead and built their multi-possession lead up again.
• They were up by 10 coming out of the final media timeout with 3:49 left to play.
• Thomas More closed the gap to three with 28 seconds remaining off an redshirt freshman Daniel Allen (Hodgenville, KY / Larue County) three-pointer and a free throw but a fast-break dunk and a pair of free throws from Kentucky Wesleyan finished the game with a score of 82-75.
• Daviawne Crim and Jashaun Pouncy each had 8 points in the second half. Daviawne Crim went 2-3 from beyond the arc and sank his two free throws while Pouncy went 4-7 inside.
• Sophomore Tyler Johnson (Cincinnati, OH / Elder) pulled down 5 of the team's 17 rebounds in the half.
• Kai Simpson had five assists.

 

• Jashaun Pouncy led the team with 18 points shooting 9-12 (75%) and had five rebounds after coming off the bench.
• Kai Simpson had 17 points on 5-11 from the field and 2-3 from outside the arc. He also went 5-5 from the charity stripe. He had a team-high 6 assists and four defensive rebounds.
• Daniel Allen had 15 points, helped by his 4-7 three-point shooting.
• Daviawne Crim was the final Saint in double-digit points with 12 after he shot 2-5 from beyond the arc and 4-4 from the free throw line.
• Both Tyler Johnson and Colin McHale had six rebounds.