(CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky.) - The Thomas More College men's basketball team took on Thiel College tonight (February 23, 2017) in the semifinals of the President Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament. The Saints came out victorious with a final score of 73-53. The Saints move on in the PAC Tournament and will compete for the title on Saturday, February 25, 2017.

The Saints started the night slow finding themselves down 21-9 with 12:34 to go in the first half. Going on a 10-0 run in the middle of the first half, the Saints caught a spark and never looked back. The Saints tonight were led by their defensive efforts by recording 10 steal that led to 13 points. On the offensive side of the ball, the Saint finished the game with 15 assists. When it was all said and done the Saints shot 40.6 percent from the field and 76.5 percent from the free-throw line.

The Saints had nine players reach the scoring column and were led by sophomore forward Ralph Stone (Shelbyville, Ky./Martha Layne Collins), who finished the game with 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists, four steals and also gave the Saints a spark when they needed it the most. Along with Stone were sophomore guard Damion King (Winchester, Ky./George Rogers Clark), who finished with a game-high 24 points and sophomore guard Brandon Horne (Louisville, Ky./Male), who finished the game with 13 points.

Talking to Player of the Game, Ralph Stone, we asked him what it was that led the Saints to a victory and what it meant to be back in the spot they were last year. He told us, "Tonight our defensive efforts were able to help us on the offensive side of the ball and we were having fun. Saturday we have to make sure we are ready to go and have our game face on, if we do that hopefully we can come out with a win."

The Tomcats of Thiel College had nine players reach the scoring column. Clandell Cetoute led the Tomcats with 12 points and nine assists. The Tomcats had two players close to double-digits as Alonzo Brown finished with nine points and 11 assists and Nyric Gosley finished with nine points.

The Saint will compete for the PAC Championship on Saturday as they travel to Latrobe, Pennsylvania to take on the No. 1 seed Saint Vincent College. Tip off will be at 7:30 p.m. and the PAC Sports Network will provide a video webcast of the game at www.pacstream.net.