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CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. (Feb. 23) – Despite a three-point halftime lead and a game-high 26 points from senior guard Dennis Bassich, the Saint Vincent men's basketball team was eliminated in the semifinals of the Presidents' Athletic Conference tournament by Thomas More, 75-70.
 
With the loss the Bearcats end the season at 19-8 overall and Thomas More, who advances to the PAC Championship Game on Saturday at Bethany, improves to 20-7.
 
SVC opened up a 15-6 lead at the 15:24-mark after back-to-back three-pointers by Bassich and sophomore forward Dillon Stith. A jumper by senior guard Tauvon Pettiford made it 17-8 with 14:32 to play in the half before Thomas More went on a 14-2 run that lasted five minutes to take a 22-19 lead with just over nine minutes remaining.
 
Back-to-back triples from Pettiford and Bassich gave SVC the lead, 25-22, at the 8:23 mark. After back-and-forth basketball, SVC scored the final six points of the first half to take a 35-32 lead into the break.
 
The Bearcats scored the first four points of the second half to open the lead up to seven points, 39-32, with just over 18 minutes remaining, but Thomas More would take the lead, 50-49, at the 10:31-mark, thanks in part to eight free throws. Bassich gave the Bearcats the lead, 56-54, with just under seven minutes remaining, thanks to seven-straight Bearcat points.
 
However, Thomas More was able to convert 21-of-28 at the free-throw line in the second half to secure the victory. Junior guard Chris Klimchock scored the final five points of the game in the last eight seconds to cut the final margin to five points, 75-70.
 
Bassich led all scorers with 26 points in his final game in a Bearcat uniform. Klimchock added 19 points while Pettiford chipped in 13 points, despite fouling out with four minutes left.
 
The Bearcats shot 49.0 percent (25-of-51) from the floor and 40.0 percent (8-of-20) from beyond-the-arc in the loss. The Saints converted 42.6 percent (23-of-54) of their field-goal attempts and just 18.2 percent (2-of-11) from three-point range.
 
The Saints held a large margin at the free-throw line, attempting 34 free throws compared to SVC's 15. Thomas More made 79.4 percent (27-of-34) at the charity stripe, while the Bearcats converted on 80.0 percent, 12-of-15.