Thomas More men win second-straight PAC hoops title - Mar 1, 2018
Top-seeded Thomas More College won its second-straight Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Men's Basketball Championship Tournament title with a 78-73 victory over second-seeded Bethany College Saturday night at the Connor Convocation Center. The PAC title is Thomas More's third (2009, 2017-18). Saturday's appearance in the title game was its seventh since 2010. Saturday's postseason matchup between Thomas More and Bethany was the fifth since the Saints entered the league in the 2005-06 season. The two programs had met in the league's championship tournament title game twice (2009, 2012) prior to Saturday night, with each team winning once (Thomas More in 2009, Bethany in 2012). The title game appearance for Bethany was its first since downing Thomas More 58-53 at Hummel Field House in 2012. The Bison have claimed a PAC-best 14 league titles. Thomas More junior guard Damion King (5'10''-PG) (Winchester, Ky. | George Rogers Clark) paced the top-seeded Saints, producing a 23-point, 13-rebound double-double. Junior guard Brandon Horne (6'3''-G/F) (Louisville, Ky. | Male) and senior guard Michael Griffin (6'0''-PG) (Crestwood, Ky. | South Oldham) chipped in with 17 and 12 points, respectively. Bethany senior guard Calique Jones (6'0''-PG) (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Obama Academy) led four Bison in double figures, finishing with a team-high 22 points and five rebounds. Sophomore forward Chaice Truex (6'5''-F) (Wheeling, W.Va. | St. John Central (Ohio)) added 13 points and seven boards. Thomas More jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, and after going up by as many as 12 in the first half, went into the break with a 41-33 lead. A Jones' layup gave the Bison a 58-54 lead with just under eight minutes to play. Tied at 60-60 with 4:54 remaining, the Saints used an 8-1 run, capped by a three-pointer by King with 1:29 to play, to grab a 68-61 lead with 1:29 left.
PAC Tournament Final: Thomas More - Bethany 78-73 PAC Tournament Semifinals: Thomas More - Geneva 67-50 Bethany - Westminster 76-72
Courtesy of PACAthletics
|