(GREENVILLE, Pa.) - Despite a game-high 18 points from junior point guard Daniel Whelan (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier), the No. 5 seeded Thomas More College men's basketball team fell, 78-65, to No. 1 seed Thiel College tonight (Thursday, February 24, 2011) in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament semifinal game at Beeghly Gymnasium in Greenville, Pennsylvania.

With the loss, the Saints end the season at 13-14.  With the win, the Tomcats improve to 20-6 and advance to the PAC Tournament championship game where they will host No. 3 seed Bethany College at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday (February 26)

Thomas More jumped out to an early 10-6 lead with 15:55 to play in the opening half when Whelan nailed a three-pointer.  Thiel responded with a 13-3 run capped by a three-pointer by Devon Adams to take a 19-13 lead at the 10:10 mark of the first half.  The Saints answered with a 14-4 run to take a 27-23 lead with 6:16 to play in the half when senior shooting guard Brian Muse (Bethel, Ohio/Bethel) made a lay-up.  The Tomcats closed out the half on a 12-4 run to take a 35-31 halftime lead when Adams made a dunk with five-seconds to play in the half.

Thomas More opened the second half on a 5-2 run to cut the lead to 37-36 with 17:16 to play in the game when freshman point guard Spencer Berlekamp (Cincinnati, Ohio/Kings) made a lay-up.  Thiel answered with a 6-2 run capped by a lay-up by Blair Rozenblad to extend the lead to 43-38 with 15:23 to play in the game.  The Saints responded with a 13-5 run to take a 51-48 lead at the 8:04 mark of the second half when junior center Colt Stafford (Groveport, Ohio/Bishop Hartley) made two free-throws.  The Tomcats came right back with a 12-2 run to take a 60-53 lead when Aundra Jones made a lay-up with 4:56 to play in the game.  Thomas More answered with a 6-1 run capped by a lay-up by senior shooting guard Aaron Miller (Lexington, Ky./Henry Clay) with 4:11 to play in the game to cut the lead to 61-59.  That would be as close as the Saints would come as Thiel closed out the game on a 17-6 run for the final score of 78-65.

Joining Whelan in double-figure scoring were Muse with 14 points and Miller with 11 points.  Stafford led the team on the boards with a game-high 10 rebounds, while Berlekamp led the team in assists with four.