LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Tayron Thomas scored 20 of his game-high 30 points in the second half Saturday night, and he made a pair of key free throws in the final minute as Philadelphia (Pa.) University posted an 81-78 win over Northern Kentucky University at the Disney Division II Tip-Off Classic.
After Mike Kelsey finished off a conventional three-point play with 58 seconds remaining to cut Philadelphia’s lead to 77-76, Thomas was fouled and converted a pair of free throws to give the Rams a 79-76 advantage. NKU’s Jesse Rupe made a short jumper with 16 seconds left to cut the deficit to 79-78, and the Norse immediately fouled Brent Welton with 14.5 seconds on the clock.
Welton hit one of two free throws to extend Philadelphia’s lead to 80-78. NKU’s Steve Purdon missed a jumper with two seconds left, and the Rams’ Jim McMahon grabbed the rebound and was fouled.
McMahon made one of two free throws to give Philadelphia an 81-78 lead with 1.4 seconds left. NKU had a final shot, but Kelsey’s three-point attempt was partially blocked and Philadelphia (1-1) escaped with the victory.
“Philadelphia really shot the ball well, and they made a number of tough shots,” NKU head coach Ken Shields said. “The most important statistic in basketball is shooting percentage, and they made 53.8 percent of their shots. That’s exactly why they won this game.”
The Rams connected on 28 of 52 shots from the field, including 9-of-16 shooting from three-point range. Thomas, a 6-foot-2 sophomore guard, made 9 of 14 from the field and hit all 10 of his free throw attempts.
Philadelphia led by as many as 11 points in the first half, but Rupe and Howell led a rally that sliced the deficit to 42-36 at the break. NKU eventually took a 70-69 lead on Howell’s three-pointer with 3:34 remaining, but Thomas countered by making four straight free throws to give the Rams a 73-70 advantage with 2:52 left.
Rupe led NKU (1-1) with 24 points and nine rebounds, while Howell added 18 points. Kelsey finished with 17 points for the Norse, who will conclude the Division II Tip-Off Classic at 3:30 p.m. Sunday against South Dakota State University.
Sean Rowland added 10 points and three assists for NKU, which won the rebounding battle by a 36-25 margin. Welton scored 16 points for Philadelphia, and Darnell Goudy and Brett Storm each added 11 points for the Rams.
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Jesse Rupe |