(LATROBE, Pa.) – The fourth-seeded Thomas More men's basketball team fell to top-seeded Saint Vincent College, 86-73, tonight (Thursday, February 26, 2015) in a semifinal game of the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament at the Robert S. Carey Center in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
With the loss, the Saints end the season at 17-10. With the win, the Bearcats improve to 21-6 and advance to play second-seeded Waynesburg University in the championship game of the PAC Championship Tournament on Saturday.
Saint Vincent jumped out to an early 30-13 lead when Pat Jones made two free-throws with 7:14 to play in the first half. Thomas More answered with a 5-0 run to cut the lead to 30-18 with 4:38 to play in the half when sophomore guard/forward Nate McGovney (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) made a three-pointer. The Bearcats closed out the half on a 15-6 run to take a 45-24 lead at halftime when Jaylon Bell made two free-throws with 32-seconds to play in the opening half.
Thomas More opened the second half with a 17-9 run to cut the lead to 54-41 with 13:43 to play in the game when senior forward Drew Mumford (Louisville, Ky./Christian Academy) made a jumper. The Bearcats answered with a 21-13 run capped by two Jones free-throws to increase the lead to 75-54 with 5:20 to play in the second half. The Saints closed the game on a 19-11 run, but it wasn't enough as Saint Vincent won the game, 86-73.
Mumford led the team in scoring, rebounding and assists with 23 points, five rebounds and three assists. Joining him in double-figure scoring was senior forward Jalen Clark (Frankfort, Ky./Western Hills) with 15 points and sophomore guard Drew Mays (Union, Ky./Ryle) with 13 points.