Local college roundup: Thomas More men advance to PAC semifinals, NKU women lose home finale

By Don Owen
NKyTribune reporter

An extremely slow start didn’t prevent the Thomas More College men’s basketball team from finishing fast Tuesday night in the first round of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference at the Connor Convocation Center.

Ryne Callahan scored 16 points as top-seeded Thomas More posted a 72-57 win over Thiel (Pa.). The Saints fell behind 7-0 in the first two minutes of the game and managed only a four-point halftime lead, but a strong second half lifted the home team to a comfortable victory.

Damion King and Simon Clifford both added 15 points as Thomas More improved to 21-5 overall and advanced to Thursday’s semifinals, which will also be held in Crestview Hills. The Saints held eighth-seeded Thiel (7-17 overall) to 37.7 percent shooting from the field, including 4-for-15 from 3-point range.

Callahan made a trio of 3-pointers in the first half and scored 11 as Thomas More settled for a 30-26 lead at the break. The Saints used a 15-4 run during the opening five minutes of the second half to build a 45-30 advantage. King ignited the Thomas More spurt by draining a pair of 3-pointers.

King scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half, while Clifford netted 11 points after the break. Clifford also joined Thomas More’s 1,000-point club with a basket in the second half.

Thomas More shot 45 percent from the field and won the rebounding battle by a 38-35 margin. The Saints committed nine turnovers, while Thiel finished with 12.

Thomas More will meet sixth-seeded Geneva (Pa.) at 7 p.m. Thursday. The winner will advance to Saturday’s PAC championship game, which will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Connor Convocation Center.

NKU WOMEN LOSE HOME FINALE: Youngstown State placed three players in double figures and held off a late Northern Kentucky University rally to post a 60-59 victory over the Norse at BB&T Arena on Monday night.

Youngstown State (14-14 overall, 10-7 Horizon League) led by as many as 14 (23-9) in the half after scoring its first 21 points off seven 3-pointers. The Penguins shot 57 percent from beyond the arc in the half, going 8-for-14.

NKU (8-19 overall, 6-10 Horizon League) eventually pulled to within two points at 58-56 with 7.7 seconds left in the game when Mikayla Terry scored while being fouled. Terry missed the free throw and Youngstown State rebounded.

Nikki Arbanas made a pair of free throws to extend the Penguin lead to 60-56 with four seconds remaining, and NKU’s Samari Mowbray buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer to account for the final margin.

Terry, a senior guard playing her final home game, led all scorers with 14 points while adding five rebounds and four assists. Jazmyne Geist chipped in 10 points for NKU, which plays at Illinois-Chicago on Friday.

WEYER HELPS BELLARMINE WIN GLVC TITLE: Former Newport Central Catholic standout Ben Weyer scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds on Saturday as Bellarmine cruised to its 24th win of the season, an 82-70 road triumph against Truman State in Kirksville, Mo.

Weyer shot 6-for-8 from the field and made four 3-pointers in five attempts as Bellarmine wrapped up the GLVC regular-season title and No. 1 seed in the upcoming conference tournament at Edwardsville, Ill. The 6-foot-7 sophomore forward averages 9.0 points per game this season and is shooting 47.4 percent from the field.

Bellarmine is 24-2 overall, 15-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Knights are ranked No. 6 nationally in the latest NCAA Division II poll.