Forwards Joe Langley (North Tonawanda, NY/North Tonawanda) and Matt Tierney (Louisville/Trinity) were responsible for the rough night on the Thiel's Joe Herrmann, who came into today's games with a 18.6 scoring average.
"We set a challenge to them," said Ellenwood. "(Herrmann) is a good player. We challenged them to shut down the best scorer in the conference."
Not only did Langley and Tierney lock down on Herrmann, it was collective defensive effort for the Saints. Only three scorers found their way into the scorebook in the first half, while four players scored total. The Thomas More reserves held a huge advantage over their Tomcats counterparts, 34-0. In additions, thanks to 14 offensive rebounds, Thomas More held a 12-4 lead in second chance points.
Two free throws with 16:02 gave the Tomcats their last lead of the game as Thomas More scored 16 of the game's 18 points to open up a double-digit bulge. Senior Ed Thornton (Cleveland, OH/Villa Angela-St. Joseph) capped a late 10-2 run with a lay-up at the buzzer, and the Saints had a 19-point halftime lead.
Thomas More's lead grew to as much as 23 points, and Thiel never was able to get back to within double figures.
Sophomore Jeremy Abell (Louisville/Trinity) led the Saints with 14 points, while nine other Saints tallied markers.
"Scorers get all the credit, but it was a total team effort," said Ellenwood. "We got four offensive rebounds by Joe and Romell (Salone) had four assists and just one turnovers. He didn't score today, but he got us into what we wanted to do."
It was the first career start for Salone (Cincinnati, OH/Walnut Hills) as he recorded his career-high with the four dimes. He has seven assists and one turnover in the last two games.
Thomas More (1-14, 1-2) will travel to Washington, PA to grapple with the Presidents' of Washington & Jefferson 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Thiel vs Thomas More 1/13/07 3 p.m. at Crestview Hills, KY - Connor Convocation At Crestview Hills, KY - Connor Convocation THOMAS MORE 59, THIEL 45 THIEL (5-8, 2-2) Brandon Mirizio 7-12 2-2 19; Cory Chafee 5-10 6-7 16; Wes Siko 2-3 4-4 8; Joe Herrmann 1-4 0-0 2; Gary Gates 0-2 0-0 0; Geno Bianco 0-1 0-0 0; Mike Quaglia 0-0 0-0 0; Greg Hawes 0-3 0-0 0; Greg Anderle 0-0 0-0 0; Tony White 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-35 12-13 45. THOMAS MORE (1-14, 1-2) Jeremy Abell 5-10 0-1 14; Mark Lucas 3-3 3-4 9; Eddie Tyree 2-6 4-6 8; Aaron Miller 3-6 0-0 6; Michael Selm 1-1 2-2 5; Ed Thornton 2-5 0-0 4; Brad Buckner 2-5 0-0 4; Joe Langley 1-5 0-2 3; Nick Boeckman 1-1 0-0 3; Matt Tierney 1-3 1-2 3; Romell Salone 0-0 0-1 0; Brandon Bolden 0-0 0-0 0; Scottie Sibert 0-0 0-0 0; Erik Marting 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-45 10-18 59. Thiel......................... 19 26 - 45 Thomas More................... 38 21 - 59 3-point goals-Thiel 3-6 (Brandon Mirizio 3-5; Joe Herrmann 0-1), Thomas More 7-14 (Jeremy Abell 4-8; Michael Selm 1-1; Nick Boeckman 1-1; Joe Langley 1-1; Ed Thornton 0-1; Aaron Miller 0-1; Eddie Tyree 0-1). Fouled out--Thiel-Joe Herrmann, Thomas More-None. Rebounds-Thiel 20 (Wes Siko 5), Thomas More 30 (Joe Langley 6). Assists-Thiel 4 (Joe Herrmann 2), Thomas More 12 (Romell Salone 4). Total fouls-Thiel 21, Thomas More 19. A-303