NKyTribune staff
Ryan Batte scored 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds while teammate Reid Jolly added 22 points as Thomas More posted a 68-55 win over Union (Ky.) in the first round of the NAIA Tournament on Friday in Crestview Hills.
Batte finished 14-for-17 from the free-throw line as Thomas More (17-9) converted 20 of 30 at the charity stripe. The Saints held Union (13-10) to just 36.4 percent shooting from the field and won the rebounding battle by a 32-30 margin.
Thomas More’s Ryan Batte attempts a jumper against Union defender Kelvin Jackson. (Photo by Dale Dawn)
Noah Pack chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds off the bench for Thomas More.
Blake Ervin scored 21 points to lead Union. Markelle Turner added nine points for the Bulldogs, who were 8-for-27 from 3-point range. Turner was averaging more than 28 points per game entering Friday’s contest.
Union converted just seven free throws in 14 attempts and trailed by as many as 16 points in the second half. The Bulldogs owned a six-game winning streak entering the NAIA Tournament and were the No. 3 seed in the three-team pod.
Prior to Friday, Union had not lost since Feb. 2, when Tennessee Wesleyan posted a 67-64 victory against the Bulldogs.
Thomas More, the No. 2 seed in the pod, will meet top-seeded Morningside (Iowa) at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Connor Convocation Center. The Mustangs are 20-5 overall but have dropped two consecutive games entering the NAIA Tournament.
Morningside was upset at home in the opening round of the Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament by Mount Marty, 76-73, on Feb. 25.
The Thomas More/Morningside survivor and 15 other winning teams from around the nation will advance to the NAIA finals in Kansas City, Mo. That event will be played March 18-23.
FAULKNER EARNS HONOR: Northern Kentucky’s Trevon Faulkner was named to the Horizon League All-Tournament Team. Faulkner averaged 18.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals in two games, including 26 points during a 69-58 loss to Oakland (Mich.) in the tournament semifinals.
(Information compiled from Thomas More, Union and staff reports)
Thomas More’s Reid Jolly drives to the basket against Union on Friday night. (Photo by Dale Dawn)
