Thomas More 65, Cumberland 60 (Women)
An undefeated season and 23-game winning streak was on the line when Thomas More went into halftime down 11 at Cumberland (Tenn.) on Thursday.
But the Saints (18-0, 12-0), outscored the Phoenix 19-7 in the fourth to preserve their perfect season to date.
Courtney Hurst led the Saints with 22 points and tied a season-high with five made 3-pointers. They held Cumberland scoreless the first 4:47 of the fourth, going on a 7-0 run to tie the game from a 53-46 deficit after three. Hurst gave them their first lead of the second half on a 3-pointer with 4:07 remaining, never relinquishing the lead from there.
The two were tied at 19 after a quarter of play, Cumberland outscoring Thomas More 22-11 in the second for a 41-30 halftime advantage.
Rylee Turner, Zoie Barth and Maggie Jones all pitched in solid efforts in the victory, Turner with 11 points and six rebounds, Barth scoring 10 with six rebounds and three assists and Jones adding 10 points and three rebounds.
The Saints will stay South for the weekend as they take on Tennessee Southern on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Cumberland 78, Thomas More 75 (Men)
Trailing by as much as 17 in the second half, the Thomas More (14-3, 9-3) men were unable to pull off the comeback on the road at Cumberland (9-8, 6-6) on Thursday night.
Thomas More jumped out to an early 10-7 lead, but saw it evaporate when the Phoenix went on a 10-2 run. A 13-2 run gave Cumberland a 30-18 lead with 8:14 left in the half. The Saints were able to get within five before Cumberland closed with seven of the final 10 points of the half, taking a 43-34 at the break.
Cumberland jumped ahead 54-37 with 16:25 to play, Wyatt Vieth’s drive and layup making it a 64-60 game with 5:55 to play. A 5-0 Phoenix spurt from there kept them comfortably ahead, hitting 6-of-8 free throws in the last minute to close the door from there.
Reid Jolly led the Saints with 24 points, Jacob Jones adding 16 points and four rebounds, Wyatt Vieth with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists and Noah Pack chipping in 11 points and seven rebounds.
Thomas More shot it well, going 50 percent from the field and knocking down nine 3-pointers, but were offset by Cumberlands 12-of-22 night from deep.
The Saints face Tennessee Southern on Saturday at 4 p.m. With Georgetown’s loss on Thursday to Pikeville, it keeps the Saints in a tie for second with the Tigers, two games behind Freed-Hardeman.
