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The Saint Vincent Bearcats earned the #1 seed in the Presidents' Athletic Conference playoff tournament with an 88-79 overtime win over visiting Thomas More College.

Isaac Turner scored 23 points, Grant Latus equaled the school record with 9 blocked shots, and Dillon Stith tallied 15 points and 13 rebounds in the win. 

In all, six Bearcats scored in double figures, while three posted double-doubles.  Latus, who had 10 points, was just two rebounds away from a triple-double on the day.  Sean Kett had 10 points and 12 boards, while Edmond Wright II had 10 points, 5 assists and four steals.  Chris Klimchock had 14 points before leaving the game midway through the second half.

The Saints' Drew Mumford opened the game with back-to-back three pointers, giving the visitors a 6-0 advantage.  SVC didn't score its first field goal until a Klimchock scored at the 15:52 mark, and took the lead for the first time after a Klimchock three made it 13-11 with 12:15 on the clock.

With 5:00 remaining, the score was 23-22 with the Bearcats in front, when Latus came up with a block, then took a pass from Wright to complete the run with a dunk at the other end of the court.  Thomas More's bench received a technical foul right after the play, and Klimchock hit both free throws to run the lead to five, 27-22, and give the Bearcats key momentum, which they rode to a 39-31 lead at the halftime break.

The first half was physical to say the least, resulting in 24 fouls and 41 free throws.

Sean Kett opened the second half with five straight points for Saint Vincent, followed by a Turner three that capped the 8-0 run and gave the Bearcats a 47-31 lead.  The lead was still at 15 points, 53-38, after Turner came up with a steal and score at the 15:30 mark.

A conventional three-point play by JC Howard with 11:20 left in regulation made the score 62-49, but the game's next 10 points belonged to the Saints, led by D'Carlo Hayes, who had a game-high 29 points on the day. 

At the 3:10 mark, it became a two-point game, 66-64, but a Stith putback at the 2:22 mark once again ran the Bearcat lead to four.  After Hayes hit a pair of free throws to cut the gap to two, Turner hit a pair of free throws to once again make it a four-point game.

After a Bearcat turnover, Hayes hit two free throws with 17.7 ticks left, and he hit both shots to make the score 70-69 with SVC clinging to the lead.  Stith hit one of two shots with 15.3 left, but Hayes drew a foul with 7 seconds left, hit both shots, and sent the game to overtime.

On the first possession of added play, Howard drove the lane and scored, then Stith took control, scoring on a putback, drawing a foul, hitting the shot, then drawing another foul on the next possession.  After hitting two more free throws, he gave SVC a seven-point edge, 78-71, and the visitors never recovered.

Turner hit several free throws later in the overtime period, as SVC drew clear to the 9-point win.  On the day, Turner went 13-for-14 at the charity stripe. 

For the day, the teams combined for 58 fouls and 91 free throws.  SVC had a 51-38 rebounding edge, but turned the ball over 20 times compared to just 12 for the Saints. 

Both teams had entered the game with a PAC record of 14-1, so the victory gave the Bearcats the home court advantage through the playoffs, which begin Tuesday night.  SVC will host the winner of the Westminster/Geneva play-in game on Monday.  Tuesday's contest in the Carey Center will start at 8PM.