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The Bearcats overcame a 23-point second half deficit to defeat Thomas More College on the road in a key conference matchup, 91-87, to clinch second place in the PAC.

Denny Bassich led the offense with a career high 32 points, while Grant Latus added a career-best 17.

Bassich scored five points to open the game, part of a 7-0 run for SVC in the first four minutes.  However, after Saint Vincent took a 10-3 lead, the hosts came back, outscoring the Bearcats 16-2 over the next four minutes.

The Bearcats then fought back, trailing by just one, 23-22, after a three-pointer by Ryan Nelson with 7:50 left in the first half.  After that, the Saints put together another strong run, putting up 20 points compared to just six for SVC, and the Saints found themselves ahead 43-28 with two minutes left in the half. 

Four free throws and a three by Bassich in the closing minutes weren't enough for the Bearcats, as they found themselves down by 17 at the break, 55-38.

Early in the second half, the lead grew to 23 for Thomas More, 63-40, before the Bearcats started chipping away.  Four straight points by Armani Fountain made it a 14 point game, 65-51, then Latus got the hot hand, scoring six points in less than three minutes, to help key a 13-0 SVC run that cut the margin to just four, 75-71, near the 8-minute mark.

Two minutes later, Bassich hit a three that made it a two-point game, 79-77, then Latus tied the game on a layup with 5:49 to go.

Scores by Aaron Miller and Brian Muse put the hosts back up by four, 85-81 with 3:33 left, and the lead remained four after both teams traded free throws with under three minutes left.

At the 2:17 mark, a putback by Tauvon Pettiford cut the SVC deficit to two, 87-85, then BJ McGill scored with 1:38 left to tie the game.

With less than a minute to go, McGill came up with the big play, a steal and breakaway score that put the Bearcats in front, 89-87.  The Saints then failed to score on their final trip down the court, and Bassich came up with a steal, ending Thomas More's chance to tie.  After a foul with 1.6 seconds left, Bassich hit both free throws to seal the win.

Four Bearcats ended up in double figures in scoring.  Behind Bassich and Latus were Dillon Stith (13) and Fountain (10).  Latus had a game-high 10 rebounds, while Bassich grabbed 7 boards.  McGill dished out 7 assists, while Bassich had six helpers.  McGill added six steals, while Latus blocked five shots.

For the Saints, six players scored in double digits, led by Spencer Berlekamp's 16.  Muse had 8 rebounds.

Saint Vincent ends the regular season with an overall record of 18-7, 10-4 in the PAC.  Thomas More finishes 12-13 overall, 8-6 in the conference.  The Bearcats received help from Washington & Jefferson, as the Presidents downed Bethany College to give SVC second place, by virtue of holding the tiebreaker over Bethany, which also finished at 10-4.  W&J finishes in fourth, while Thomas More slips to fifth and will be forced to travel to W&J on Tuesday night.

The Bearcats will now host Grove City College, which finished the regular season in seventh place in the PAC, on Tuesday night at the Carey Center beginning at 8pm.