The Saint Vincent Bearcats advanced to their third straight Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship game with an 86-73 victory at home over Thomas More College.

Saint Vincent had an explosive first half, scoring 45 points while holding the visiting Saints to only 24.  Senior Sean Kett found the back of the hoop first for SVC at the 19:18 mark.  Kett would score early and often, completing an and-one play, following a JC Howard jumper to make the score 7-5 SVC.  Kett continued to find his groove, scoring on the next two possessions, making the score 11-7 Bearcats with 14:27 left in the half.
 
Junior guard Pat Jones found his way into Saint Vincent's powerful offense, scoring on consecutive possessions, highlighted by a baseline jumper giving SVC an 8-point lead.  On the next possession, Kett capitalized on a putback layup, sparking a 9-0 SVC run.  Jones scored on a fast break layup, followed by a Kett drive and finish.  Ben Klimchock connected from beyond the arc and a pair of Jones free throws would end the run, giving SVC a hefty 30-13 lead.
 
The Saints scored on back-to-back possessions, but a Jones trey ball abruptly interrupted their brief offensive spark.  After a technical foul was called on the Saints, Kett drained four straight free throws to make the score 41-22 SVC.  Two Jaylon Bell free throws closed out the first half, giving SVC a 45-24 lead heading into the locker room.
 
For Saint Vincent, Kett lead all scorers with 19 first-half points.  Jones added 13, and Saint Vincent shot a perfect 19-19 from the free throw line.  For the Saints, Jalen Clark scored 9 points.
 
The second half featured the same explosive offense that the Bearcats demonstrated in the first.  Kett continued right where he left off, driving to the hoop with a smooth finish to make the score 47-26 Saint Vincent.  With 16:18 left in the second half, Bell found Bobby Swartwout under the basket to extend the Bearcat's lead to 16.  Bell scored on the next possession while Swartwout followed Bell with spectacular move under the basket, to make the score 56-41, SVC.
 
Austin Ford, coming off the bench, made an immediate impact completing an and one layup followed by a put back on the next possession to give Saint Vincent an 18 point lead.  Howard sank two deep threes and Jones hit a floater of his own making the score 71-53 with 7:03 left in the game.
 
Jones and Howard closed out the game for SVC, connecting on 4 consecutive free throws followed by a Howard finger roll and another Jones floater giving Saint Vincent an 86-73 victory over Thomas More.
 
Saint Vincent was lead by Jones, who scored a game high 24 points.  Kett scored 23 and added 8 boards, as Howard added 13.  SVC shot 56% from the field and 44% from beyond the arc.
 
For Thomas More, Drew Mumford scored a team high 23. 

Saint Vincent advances to face Waynesburg University in the Championship game, which will take place in the Carey Center on Saturday night (February 28) at 7:30PM.  Waynesburg, seeded #2 in the PAC Tournament, enters the game on a 9-game winning streak.