BOX SCORE
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Five Bearcats scored in double figures as the team overcame a halftime deficit to post an 86-71 win over visiting Thomas More College.
The Saints held the lead through much of the early going, until back-to-back scores by
Isaac Turner put SVC in front by one, 17-16, at the 10:20 mark.
The teams then traded the lead back and forth several times over the next six minutes, before a three by
Chris Klimchock started a seven-point Bearcat run, making the score 35-28 Saint Vincent near the 3:00 mark.
Thomas More then came to life, ending the half by outscoring the hosts 9-1, taking a 37-36 lead into the break.
Dillon Stith, who had scored 9 in the first half, opened the second half by putting the Bearcats back in front, 38-37, but the teams again continued to trade the lead until a Stith dunk seemed to energize the Bearcats near the 15:00 mark of the second half, putting the team in front, 47-44. Stith later hit a three to make it a six-point edge, 52-46.
After a Colt Stafford score for TMC with 12 minutes remaining cut the gap to four, 55-51, a score by
Armani Fountain started what would turn out to be a 13-2 run that put the game away for SVC. During that run, Bassich hit a three and scored on a baseline drive, while
Tauvon Pettiford added six points on three nearly identical jumpers.
The Bearcats continued to keep up the pressure the rest of the way, cruising to a 15-point win.
Stith led all scorers on the afternoon with 18 points, and was joined in double-figures by teammates Pettiford (17), Bassich (15), Turner (12) and Klimchock (10).
Ralph Nin added 7 points in just 12 minutes, as his time was limited by early foul trouble.
Pettiford had a game-high 10 rebounds, while Klimchock dished out 7 assists. Stith contributed six boards and three blocked shots.
For Thomas More, Phil Feinberg, who hit a trio of three-pointers in the game's first five minutes, tallied 17 points on the day, while Drew Mumford added 13 off the bench. Stafford had a team-best 8 rebounds.
With the victory, SVC overtakes Thomas More for third place in the Presidents' Athletic Conference. The Bearcats are now 5-2 (12-4 overall), while the Saints drop to 5-3 (10-6 overall).
On Wednesday night, Saint Vincent will travel to Bethany College in West Virginia for a PAC matchup. Tipoff will be 8PM.