BOX SCORE
PHOTO GALLERY
by Sean Malone, Sports Information Assistant
The Saint Vincent College men's basketball team won its first ever PAC Championship by beating the Thomas More Saints 81-67. In a game that saw six ties and 16 lead changes, the Bearcats used a 29-17 run in the last ten minutes to pull away.
In the first five minutes of the game, Thomas More took the lead four separate times, but the Bearcats answered back each time. Saint Vincent took its first lead, 11-8, with 15:17 left in the first half when
Chris Klimchock struck from downtown. Just prior to Klimchock's triple,
Grant Latus stuffed a Saint shot that ended a possession for Thomas More where they grabbed three offensive rebounds and still did not manage a basket.
There were six lead changes and one tie over the next seven minutes before Thomas More finally started to edge ahead. The Bearcats missed four free throws during a scoreless streak of over three minutes.
The Saints led 27-21 before Klimchock hit his second three of the night, cutting the deficit in half. A dunk by Thomas More's Brandon Housley restored the Saint lead to 6 with 2:08 remaining. The half ended inauspiciously for the Bearcats, as they fouled Josef Marshall with only 1.2 seconds on the clock. Marshall sunk both free throws and the Saints led 36-28 at the break.
On their first possession of the second half, a basket by Housley gave Thomas More a 10-point advantage, the Saints' largest lead of the game.
Isaac Turner quickly lowered the deficit to four, completing an and-1 play then hitting a three.
Thomas More increased its edge to seven when D'Carlo Hayes answered Turner's trey. However, the Bearcats trailed only by three with 16:19 to play. Another Latus blocked shot, one of five for him on the night, led to a Howard fast break layup making the score 41-38.
The Bearcats took their first lead since 8:14 in the first half when Ed Wright raced down the court for a layup. Yet Saint Vincent could not consolidate its lead and trailed 50-47 after a Housley bucket.
Then Klimchock turned the tide for the Bearcats. He made two free throws to cut the Saints' lead to one. On the next Saint Vincent possession, Klimchock hit the bucket that turned the game around. He sprinted upcourt, but stopped mid-stride and sunk a transition three that gave the Bearcats a 52-50 lead. Saint Vincent would not trail again.
Thomas More failed to score for two minutes while the Bearcats built their lead to nine. A
Dillon Stith fast break layup, sprung by a
Sean Kett block, gave Saint Vincent its first double digit lead of the game with a little over five minutes to play.
Two free throws by Marshall cut the lead to eight (68-60) with 4:45 to play, but Klimchock nailed his fourth and final three of the game 40 seconds later to effectively seal the game for Saint Vincent. Thomas More never again managed to trail by less than 10, and all that was left was celebration for the Bearcats.
A deafening and ecstatic student section stormed the court for the third time in four games. They lifted several Bearcat players above their hands while thunderously chanting “SVC! SVC!” The fans stuck around until senior Ed Wright cut the down the final piece of net, a piece of twine that will be forever linked to a special championship season.
The Bearcats were led in their championship winning effort by Klimchock's 22 points, including four game-changing three pointers. Turner also had a fine game, turning in 16 points, 4 assists and 7 rebounds, tying with Klimchock and Stith for the team lead in the latter two categories. Stith and Latus were the other two Bearcats in double figures with 12 points each.
Latus' 5 blocks and Stith's 4 blocks led a strong Bearcat defensive effort. They forced 13 turnovers in the game and held Thomas More to 27.5% shooting in the second half.
Josef Marshall had an excellent game for the Saints leading the team in points (18), assists (3), and rebounds (five, tied with Ross Renken). Brandon Housley, with 16, and D'Carlo Hayes, with 14, also reached double-digits for Thomas More.
Both teams are now 23-5 on the season.
Saint Vincent's first ever men's basketball PAC championship qualifies the Bearcats for the 2013 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament. The bracket will be announced on Monday, with the first round taking place next Saturday, March 2.
