President's Athletic Conference

Thomas More men win second-straight PAC hoops title

2/24/2018 10:12:00 PM

Championship Tournament information
 

2017-18 PAC Men's Basketball Championship Tournament
Quarterfinals
Tuesday, February 20
7 p.m.	No. 1 Thomas More 72, No. 8 Thiel 57
7 p.m.	No. 2 Bethany 82, No. 7 Waynesburg 73
7 p.m.	No. 6 Geneva 80, No. 3 Saint Vincent 78 (OT)
7 p.m.	No. 4 Westminster 61, No. 5 Grove City 60
Semifinals
Thursday, February 22
7 p.m.	No. 1 Thomas More 67, No. 6 Geneva 50
7 p.m.	No. 2 Bethany 76, No. 4 Westminster 72
Championship
Saturday, February 24
7:30 p.m.	No. 1 Thomas More 78, No. 2 Bethany 73

CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. (pacathletics.org) – Top-seeded Thomas More College won its second-straight Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament title with a 78-73 victory over second-seeded Bethany College Saturday night at the Connor Convocation Center.

The PAC title is Thomas More’s third (2009, 2017-18). Saturday’s appearance in the title game was its seventh since 2010.

Saturday’s postseason matchup between Thomas More and Bethany was the fifth since the Saints entered the league in the 2005-06 season. The two programs had met in the league’s championship tournament title game twice (2009, 2012) prior to Saturday night, with each team winning once (Thomas More in 2009, Bethany in 2012).

The title game appearance for Bethany was its first since downing Thomas More 58-53 at Hummel Field House in 2012. The Bison have claimed a PAC-best 14 league titles.

As the winner of the PAC’s Championship Tournament, Thomas More receive the league's automatic qualifying bid to this year's Division III Championship Tournament, which gets underway Friday, March 2. The selected Division III Championship teams and tournament pairings will be announced at 12:30 p.m. (EST) on Monday, February 26.

2017-18 PAC Championship Tournament highlights

Saturday, February 24 – Crestview Hills, Ky. Championship No. 1 Thomas More 78, No. 2 Bethany 73 Box Score

Thomas More junior guard Damion King (Winchester, Ky. | George Rogers Clark) paced the top-seeded Saints, producing a 23-point, 13-rebound double-double. Junior guard Brandon Horne (Louisville, Ky. | Male) and senior guard Michael Griffin (Crestwood, Ky. | South Oldham) chipped in with 17 and 12 points, respectively. Bethany senior guard Calique Jones (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Obama Academy) led four Bison in double figures, finishing with a team-high 22 points and five rebounds. Sophomore forward Chaice Truex (Wheeling, W.Va. | St. John Central (Ohio)) added 13 points and seven boards. Thomas More jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, and after going up by as many as 12 in the first half, went into the break with a 41-33 lead. A Jones’ layup gave the Bison a 58-54 lead with just under eight minutes to play. Tied at 60-60 with 4:54 remaining, the Saints used an 8-1 run, capped by a three-pointer by King with 1:29 to play, to grab a 68-61 lead with 1:29 left.

 

Thursday, February 22 – Crestview Hills, Ky. Semifinal No. 1 Thomas More 67, No. 6 Geneva 50 Box Score

Thomas More’s strong first half, in which it outscored visiting Geneva 32-18, helps catapult the Saints to their third-consecutive PAC Championship Tournament title game. Junior guard Damion King (Winchester, Ky. | George Rogers Clark) played a team-high 31 minutes and added 13 points to go along with six assists. Coming off the Saints’ bench, junior forward Ralph Stone (Shelbyville, Ky. | Martha Layne Collins) also scored 13 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. Junior guard Ryne Callahan (Morehead, Ky. | Rowan County) made three field goals from beyond the arc putting him two away from moving into second place on Thomas More’s all-time made three-pointers list. Geneva senior guard/forward Jimmy Leichliter (Connellsville, Pa. | Connellsville) had a game-high 27 points, with 21 of them coming from beyond the three-point line.

 

Thursday, February 22 – Bethany, W.Va. Semifinal No. 2 Bethany 76, No. 4 Westminster 72 Box Score

Bethany erased a six-point deficit during the game’s final four minutes to pull out a win over Westminster in the PAC Championship Tournament semifinals. The appearance in Saturday’s title game will be Bethany’s first since downing Thomas More 58-53 at Hummel Field House in 2012. The Bison have claimed a PAC-best 14 league titles. Bethany senior guard Calique Jones (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Obama Academy) led the Bison with 22 points including 4 assists and 3 rebounds. Senior guard Andrew Williams (Oil City, Pa. | Oil City) added on 15 points going 5-12 from the field, and Chaice Truex (Wheeling, W.Va. | St. John Central (Ohio)) had a game-high 12 rebounds. As a team, the Bison shot 50.9 percent from the floor. Junior guard Austin Armwood (Columbus, Ohio | Westerville North) had a game-high 23 points for Westminster. The Titans were limited to just a 38.7 field goal percentage.

 

Tuesday, February 20 – Crestview Hills, Ky. Quarterfinal No. 1 Thomas More 72, No. 8 Thiel 57 Box Score

Thomas More cruised to its 11th-straight opening round win Tuesday despite being outscored by visiting Thiel 9-0 over the game’s first three minutes and 41 seconds. The Saints, leading 30-26 at the break, outscored the Tomcats 42-31 in the second half to pick up the quarterfinal win. Thomas More junior guard Ryne Callahan (Morehead, Ky. | Rowan County) finished with a game-high 16 points to go along with nine boards. Junior guard Damion King (Winchester, Ky. | George Rogers Clark) and senior center Simon Clifford (Louisville, Ky. | DuPont Manual) each added 15 points. Freshman forward Daquan Simmons (Capitol Heights, Md. | Central) led four Thiel double-digit scorers with 13 points and four rebounds. Senior forward Josh Lumbus (Cleveland, Ohio | John Hay) chipped in with 12 points and nine boards.

Tuesday, February 20 – Bethany, W.Va. Quarterfinal No. 2 Bethany 82, No. 7 Waynesburg 73 Box Score

Bethany sophomore forward Chaice Truex (Wheeling, W.Va. | St. John Central (Ohio)) scored a career-high 28 points to go along with five rebounds and a pair of assists in Tuesday night’s quarterfinal win over Waynesburg. Senior guard Calique Jones (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Obama Academy) added 25 points, six boards and five assists. As a team, the Bison shot 50.0 percent (29-of-58) from the floor. The Yellow Jackets led by four (20-16) with 9:36 remaining in the first half, but a 23-7 Bison run to close out the half pushed their halftime lead to 39-27. Waynesburg was led by senior forward Marcus Wallace’s (Twinsburg, Ohio | Twinsburg) 15-point night. Freshman guard Matt Popeck (Washington, Pa. | Washington) added 12 points and five rebounds.

 

Tuesday, February 20 – Bethany, W.Va. Quarterfinal No. 6 Geneva 80, No. 3 Saint Vincent 78 (OT)  Box Score

Geneva junior guard Eric McGee (Tampa, Fla. | Seffner Christian Academy) scored on a driving layup with 1.4 seconds remaining in overtime to down Saint Vincent Tuesday night. Tuesday’s championship tournament win was Geneva’s first since its 61-59 quarterfinal upset over top-seeded Bethany on Feb. 25, 2014. It also marked the first quarterfinal game to go into overtime since No. 5 Washington & Jefferson College took down No. 4 Thiel 80-77 on Feb. 23, 2010. The win also snapped a 17-game losing streak against Saint Vincent. Geneva win against Saint Vincent was Feb. 8, 2010. Geneva senior guard/forward Jimmy Leichliter (Connellsville, Pa. | Connellsville) poured in a career-high 33 points to go along with 10 boards to pace the Golden Tornadoes. McGee and sophomore guard/forward Ethan Moose (New Castle, Pa. | Neshannock) both added 13. Senior forward Tom Kromka (Monroeville, Pa. | Gateway) finished with 22 points and seven rebounds for Saint Vincent. Freshman guard David Stephen (Winter Garden, Fla. | Dr. Phillips) chipped in with 14 points, five boards and a pair of steals. Tuesday’s quarterfinal loss was Saint Vincent’s first since gaining full-time eligibility in the PAC (2010-11).

 

Tuesday, February 20 – Bethany, W.Va. Quarterfinal No. 4 Westminster 61, No. 5 Grove City 60 Box Score

Westminster senior forward Jarret Vrabel (Canfield, Ohio | Canfield) knocked down a jumper with three seconds remaining to give the Titans a 61-60 come-from-behind victory over archrival Grove City Tuesday. Vrabel’s three-pointer with just over 15 minutes left in regulation gave the Titans a 42-29 advantage. The Wolverines responded by outscoring the Titans 26-5 over the ensuing 10:29, with senior forward Andrew Beckman’s (Shelby, Mich. | Shelby) jumper giving Grove City a 55-47 lead with 4:45 to play. Westminster reclaimed the lead with under a minute remaining after junior guard Marco Delorenzo (Canfield, Ohio | Canfield) converted a three-point play, pushing the Titans ahead 59-57. With 21 seconds to play, Grove City junior guard Isaac Williams (West Middlesex, Pa. | West Middlesex) buried a three-pointer to give the Wolverines a 60-59 lead. Vrabel and Delorenzo each scored a game-high 15 points. Vrabel also had seven boards. Westminster senior forward Deontay Scott (Youngstown, Ohio | East) registered his 10th double-double of the season, and 29th of his career, as he tallied 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Junior guard Austin Armwood (Columbus, Ohio | Westerville North) chipped in with nine points, seven assists and a pair of rebounds. Beckman led Grove City with 15 points, five rebounds and four assists. Williams finished with 13 points.