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Thomas More men rally late to defeat Bethany, 78-73, to repeat as PAC Tournament champions


Members of the Thomas More College men’s basketball team hoist the PAC championship banner after knocking off Bethany (W.Va), 78-73, Saturday night in Crestview Hills. Damion King scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as the Saints repeated as PAC champions.

By Don Owen
NKyTribune reporter

If this continues, Crestview Hills will soon be known as the city of champions.

It would be a fitting title after what happened Saturday at Thomas More College.

First, the Thomas More women’s basketball team captured its 11th consecutive Presidents’ Athletic Conference tournament championship with an easy 93-51 victory against Washington & Jefferson. Three hours later, the top-seeded Thomas More men were also hoisting the PAC championship trophy after knocking off Bethany (W.Va), 78-73.

Damion King led Thomas More with 23 points and 13 rebounds.

Damion King collected a double-double with 23 points and 13 rebounds as the Saints (23-5 record) repeated as PAC champions. Brandon Horne added 17 points and eight rebounds for Thomas More, which rallied from a 58-54 deficit in the final 6:37 of the game to pull out the win and earn a return trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

With Thomas More trailing 58-54, Ralph Stone scored two straight buckets to tie the game at 58-all. Stone later knocked down a jumper to give the Saints a 62-60 lead, and Thomas More slowly pulled away from the second-seeded Bison (16-12) in front of a crowd of 1,042 at the Connor Convocation Center.

Calique Jones scored 22 points to lead Bethany, which used a 20-6 advantage in points off turnovers to stay close. The Bison shot just 41.4 percent from the field and allowed Thomas More to shoot 9-for-18 from 3-point range.

Michael Griffin of Thomas More buried four treys to finish with 12 points. Stone chipped in eight points – all in the second half — and seven rebounds. Simon Clifford and Ryne Callahan both finished with eight points for the Saints, who shot 45.8 percent from the field and won the rebounding battle by a 40-38 margin.

Pairings for the NCAA Division III Tournament will be announced Monday.


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