(BETHANY, W.Va.) - Senior shooting guard Aaron Miller (Lexington, Ky./Henry Clay) scored 22 points to lead four Saints in double-figures, but it wasn't enough as the Thomas More College men's basketball team fell, 87-82, to Bethany College today (Saturday, February 9, 2011) in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game at Hummel Field House in Bethany, West Virginia.
With the loss, the Saints fall to 12-11 overall and 8-4 in the PAC. With the win, the Bison improve to 17-6 overall and 10-3 in the PAC.
Bethany jumped out to an early 9-0 lead with 15:52 to play in the first half when Nick Wilcox made a lay-up. Thomas More answered with a 5-2 run to cut the lead to 11-5 when freshman point guardSpencer Berlekamp (Cincinnati, Ohio/Kings) made a three-pointer at the 14:35 mark of the opening half. The Bison came right back with a 17-7 run capped by a three-pointer by James Barton with 8:22 to play in the first half to extend the lead to 28-12. The Saints responded with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 28-19 on a lay-up by senior shooting guard Brian Muse (Bethel, Ohio/Bethel) with 7:20 to play in the half. Bethany used a 14-4 run to increase the lead to 42-23 with 1:33 to play in the opening half when Wilcox made a jumper. Thomas More closed out the half on a 10-3 run to cut the lead to 45-33 at halftime whenMiller made a lay-up at the buzzer.
The Saints opened the second half on a 7-3 run capped by a lay-up by Miller to cut the lead to 48-40 with 17:17 to play in the game. Bethany responded with a 5-0 run to extend the lead to 53-40 on a Barton three-pointer at the 16:26 mark of the second half. Thomas More answered with a 27-11 run to take a 67-64 lead with 9:08 to play in the game when sophomore point guard Ryan Hamm (Maysville, Ky./Mason County) made a three-pointer. The Bison came right back with a 9-4 run to take a 73-71 lead with 5:09 to play in the game when Barton made a three-pointer. Thomas More responded with a 4-0 run capped by a lay-up by junior point guard Daniel Whelan (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier) to take a 75-73 lead with 4:35 to play in the game. Bethany put together an 8-0 run to take an 81-75 lead with 2:11 when Wilcox made one-of-two free-throws. The Saints answered with a 7-3 run to cut the lead to 84-82 when junior center Colt Stafford (Groveport, Ohio/Bishop Hartley) made a lay-up with 23-seconds to play in game. That would be as close as the Saints would come as Bethany closed out the game on a 3-0 run for the 87-82 victory.
Joining Miller in double-figures were Stafford with 18 points, Whelan with 14 points and junior shooting guard Todd Krohman (Florence, Ky./Boone County) with 12 points. Miller led the team on the boards with six rebounds, while Stafford led the team in assists with two and Krohman led the team in assists with six.
The Saints return to action on Wednesday (February 16) when they host Thiel College at 7:30 p.m. at the Connor Convocation Center in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.