(CINCINNATI, Ohio) - The Thomas More College men's basketball team defeated DePauw University, 80-79, tonight (Saturday, November 17, 2012) in the opening game of the College of Mount St. Joseph Tip-Off Classic at the Harrington Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

With the win, the Saints improve to 2-0 and with the loss, the Tigers fall to 0-1.

Thomas More jumped out to a 6-2 lead when senior shooting guard Ethan King (Maysville, Ky./Mason County) made a three-pointer with 18:34 to play in the first half.  DePauw answered with a 8-2 run capped by a Connor Rich jumper at the 15:00 mark of the first half to tie the game at 10-10.  The Saints responded with a 4-0 run to take a 14-10 lead when sophomore shooting guard Drew Mumford (Louisville, Ky./Christian Academy) had a tip-in with 14:37 to play in the first half.  The Tigers put together an 11-4 run to take a 21-18 lead on a Barry Flynn jumper with 10:41 to play in the opening half.  The Saints answered with an 18-7 run to take a 36-28 lead with 5:11 to play in the half when Mumford made a lay-up.  DePauw closed out the first half on a 10-3 run to cut the lead to 39-38 at intermission when Rich made a three-pointer with 31-seconds to play in the half.

The Saints opened the second half on an 8-1 run to extend the lead to 47-39 with 16:31 to play in the game when King made a jumper.  DePauw answered with an 11-6 run capped by a Rich three-pointer at the 13:12 mark of the second half to cut the lead to 53-50.  Junior point guard Eliot Pipes (Nashville, Tenn./Hillsboro) capped a Thomas More 4-0 run with a lay-up to increase the lead to 57-50 with 12:20 to play in the game.  The Tigers used an 8-1 run to tie the game at 58-58 with 11:00 to play in the game when Tommy Fernitz made a lay-up.  The Saints answered with an 18-8 run to build a 76-66 lead with 4:57 to play in the game when junior small forward Brandon Housley (Covington, Ky./Holmes) made two free-throws.  DePauw came right back with a 13-2 run to take a 79-78 lead with 14-seconds to play in the game when Rich made a three-pointer.  With 12-seconds to play in the game, junior point guard D'Carlo Hayes (Louisville, Ky./Male) made two free-throws and DePauw's three-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark and the Saints won the game, 80-79.

Thomas More had four players in double-figure scoring as Hayes and King each had 16 points, Mumford had 14 and Housley had 12.  Housley just missed a double-double as he led the team on the boards with nine rebounds and Hayes led the team in assists with five.

The Saints close out the MSJ Tip-Off Classic tomorrow as they will play Olivet (Mich.) College at 1 p.m. in the Harrington Center.