W&J Suffers Heartbreaker In Kentucky On Buzzer-Beating Shot
CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. – Todd Krohman drilled a three-pointer from nearly 30 feet out as time expired to give Thomas More a wild 67-66 PAC men’s basketball victory over Washington & Jefferson on Wednesday evening at the Connor Convocation Center.
The Saints (7-1, 3-0 PAC) escaped with the win despite leading for only a total of eight minutes and 23 seconds the entire night.
W&J senior swingman Zach Zelinsky (East Liverpool, Ohio/Beaver Local) made 1-of-2 free throws with 15 seconds left to put W&J ahead 66-64. Thomas More missed a running jumper with four seconds left and the ball went out of bounds off the hands of a President with 1.4 seconds remaining. Following a timeout, Krohman received the inbounds pass and fired from long distance for the game winner.
The opening minutes were evenly matched until W&J (3-5, 0-2 PAC) went ahead by nine points (28-19) after a three-point play by junior guard Zach Bellhy (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) at the 9:08 mark.
A three-pointer by freshman point guard Jake Swan (Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic) at the 3:15 mark pushed the lead to 39-28, but TMC scored the final five points of the half to trail 39-33 at the break.
W&J held off three different Thomas More rallies until D’Carlo Hayes buried a three-pointer with 5:05 left for the Saints’ first lead (56-53) in over 27 minutes.
The Presidents fought back and claimed a 63-60 lead with 1:39 remaining after one free throw from freshman guard Mike Resnik (White Oak, Pa./McKeesport); however, Krohman tied the game with the first of his two key triples 39 seconds later.
Bellhy canned two free throws for a 65-63 lead and Thomas More’s Phil Feinberg was fouled on the next possession, but made only 1-of-2 shots from the line. Zelinsky followed with his 1-for-2 trip from the free throw line and the game ended on Krohman’s heroics.
W&J was led by Resnik’s season-high 13 points and six rebounds. Bellhy had 12 points, while senior guard Uchenna Okocha (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/University School) contributed 10 points, four rebounds and two assists. The Presidents shot 41 percent (24-of-59) and held a 37-27 rebounding edge.
Feinberg and Daniel Whelan paced the Saints with 13 points. Thomas More finished shooting 49 percent as a team (24-of-49), including nine three-pointers.
W&J takes on Westminster Saturday at 2:00 pm at the Henry Memorial Center in the first game of a PAC doubleheader.
