(CINCINNATI, Ohio) – The Thomas More College men's basketball team fell, 92-84, to across-the-bridge rival Mount St. Joseph University tonight (Wednesday, December 16, 2015) in the Bridge Shootout at the Harrington Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.
With the loss, the Saints fall to 3-5 and with the win, the Lions improve to 4-4.
Mount St. Joseph took an early 21-12 lead when Andrew Finley made one-of-two free-throws with 11:04 to play in the first half. Thomas More answered with a 9-4 run to cut the lead to 25-21 with 7:14 to play in the half when sophomore forward Austin Young (Campbellsburg, Ky./Henry County) made a three-pointer. The Lions used an 11-6 run to extend the lead to 36-27 on a Joel Scudder three-pointer with 4:16 to play in the half. The Saints closed out the half on a 7-3 run to cut the lead to 39-34 at halftime.
The Lions opened the second half on a 26-13 run capped by a Travis Combs lay-up with 12:14 to play in the game to increase the lead to 65-47. Thomas More answered with a 15-4 run to cut the lead to 69-62 with 8:10 to play in the second half when junior forward/center Simon Clifford (Louisville, Ky./DuPont Manual) made two free-throws. Mount St. Joseph extended the lead to 78-65 with 5:05 to play in the game when Cameron Lee made a three-pointer to cap a 9-3 run. The Saints responded with a 17-9 run to cut the lead to 87-82 when sophomore guard Daniel Williams (Louisville, Ky./Jeffersonville) made a lay-up with 31-seconds to play in the game. That would be as close as Thomas More would come as Mount St. Joseph closed out the game on a 5-2 run for the 92-84 victory.
Clifford led the Saints in scoring with 21 points, while Williams and Young joined him in double-figure scoring with 18 and 14 points respectively. Freshman guard Brandon Horne (Louisville, Ky./Male) led the team on the boards with seven rebounds. Horne and Williams led the team in assists with four each.
Thomas More returns to action on Saturday (December 19) when it hosts Franklin College at 3 p.m. at the Connor Convocation Center in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.