Saints Use Three-Pointers To Top Presidents
WASHINGTON, Pa. – Thomas More drained 12 three-pointers, including six by Spencer Berlekamp, and downed Washington & Jefferson College 90-80 to earn a split in the PAC men’s basketball season series Saturday at the Henry Memorial Center.
TMC (18-3, 11-1) shot 46 percent (12-26) from long distance and 53 percent (27-51) overall from the field. W&J dropped to 8-14 (6-7 PAC), despite shooting a season-best 62 percent (31-50) from the field.
The Saints made triples on each of their first three possessions and ran out to an early 9-4 lead.
Sophomore guard Mike Resnik (White Oak, Pa./McKeesport) tied the game at 15 on a three-point play and the lead changed hands three times over the next six minutes.
Thomas More reeled off seven-straight points and its lead ballooned to 10 with 27 seconds left in the opening half after D’Carlo Hayes sank a three. Sophomore guard Doug Johnson (Greensburg, Pa./Greater Latrobe) answered with a deep triple of his own just before the halftime buzzer sounded to make the score 40-33 after 20 minutes.
W&J scored the first four points of the second half, but Ryan Hamm connected on back-to-back three-pointers to push the Saints’ lead back to nine.
The Presidents fought back to within four after a Resnik layup at the 6:54 mark, but TMC countered with five-straight points, including a key three-pointer from Drew Mumford. W&J was unable to cut the lead under five the rest of the way as the Saints made 11 free throws during the final 1:23 to seal the victory.
Sophomore Nate Bellhy (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) led W&J with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds, while older brother, guard Zach Bellhy (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry), scored all 16 of his points during the second half and pulled down seven rebounds.
Resnik tallied 13 points off the bench and senior forward Ben Cecchini (Jamestown, N.Y./Jamestown) added 11 points, while Johnson was the fifth President to reach double figures with 10 points. W&J made 13-of-15 free throw attempts and held a 27-23 edge on the glass.
Hayes led all scorers with 23 points and Berlekamp recorded 21 on 6-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc.
W&J looks to bounce back against Grove City on Wednesday at the Henry Memorial Center (8:00 pm). The Presidents knocked off the Wolverines 63-50 earlier this season.
