By Don Owen
NKyTribune sports editor
The final statistics don’t include hustle points and energy plays, but Thomas More head coach Jeff Hans knew what keyed his team’s 94-71 victory over Indiana University East on Tuesday night.
“Hayden White came into the game and gave us a big spark. Big offensive rebounds, gave us second-chance opportunities,” Hans said of his senior forward, whose aggressive play ignited a rally that turned an 11-4 deficit into a 23-15 lead. “I think we might have been rushing some shots early on. We had some bad turnovers early on. When you’re able to get extra possessions like Hayden created for us, it’s a huge momentum builder.”
White came off the bench and finished with nine points, five rebounds and a blocked shot, not to mention numerous hustle plays that kept possessions alive. Thomas More built a 47-35 lead by halftime and cruised to the season-opening win at the Connor Convocation Center.
IU East (0-1) jumped out to an 11-4 lead and still owned a 15-10 advantage when White netted five straight points to even the score at 15-all. After a steal and basket by Courtney Hurst gave the Saints a 17-15 lead, White made a pair of free throws to extend the advantage to 19-15.
Taylor Clos followed with a pair of baskets that pushed the lead to 23-15, and the Saints controlled the remainder of the game.
“Once we started scoring and getting back in transition, the energy built and that carried us,” White said. “We played them last year and it was back-and-forth, but we won. I knew it would be a good game. We just had to do the little things like rebounding, boxing out and all that.”
Thomas More shot 51.4 percent from the field and finished with a 40-26 advantage in rebounds. Hurst poured in 21 points to lead the Saints, who are ranked No. 14 nationally in the NAIA preseason poll.
Clos, a transfer from Northern Kentucky University, added 11 points in her Thomas More debut. The Campbell County High School product netted nine points in the first half. Sophomore guard Zoie Barth also chipped in 11 points, while Summer Secrist scored 10 points.
Hans, who guided Thomas More to three NCAA Division III national championships prior to the move to the NAIA, employed a pair of transfers in the all-guard starting lineup on Tuesday.
“We tried to press early on, but we weren’t aggressive defensively,” Hans said. “That’s a mistake on my part. Learn from it, get out of it and we did much better the second quarter.”
Added Hurst: “With it being our first game, we didn’t really know how to gel together. But as we kept going, I think we figured it out.”
Hurst, who netted 1,944 career points while at Conner High School, buried a trio of 3-pointers on Tuesday night. The sophomore guard still holds the Conner all-time record of 370 made 3-pointers.
Briana McNutt and Kenzie Schwarber both grabbed eight rebounds to lead Thomas More, which posted a 22-10 record last season. Schwarber, a Campbell County graduate and a transfer from Morehead State, also added nine points in her debut with the Saints.
Hustle plays and big scoring spurts allowed the newcomers to ease into the Thomas More system on Tuesday night.
“That’s this team. They can go on big runs, and we may give up a big run here or there,” Hans said. “With all the new people we have and the veterans, I thought you saw it come together throughout the game. And that’s how it’s been in practice.”
Kennedy Griffin scored 18 points to lead IU East, which shot 48.4 percent from the field. The Red Wolves also committed 23 turnovers and were just 4-for-17 from 3-point range.
Thomas More will not have time to relax as Southeastern (Fla.) — which is ranked No. 7 nationally in the NAIA poll — visits Crestview Hills on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. That game was just added on Monday afternoon after the ongoing pandemic forced the cancellation of Southeastern’s scheduled contest at Campbellsville-Harrodsburg.
Southeastern (1-1) suffered a 78-63 loss at Asbury (Ky.) on Tuesday night.
“They’re really good. They have some transfers and were really good in NAIA Division II program the last few years,” Hans said. “Now it’s all one division. You want to see where you’re at and have an opportunity to play those (teams) here at home in front of our fans. It’s a big thing for us right now.”
THOMAS MORE 94, INDIANA EAST 71
INDIANA EAST (71)
Kennedy 8-11 0-1 18, Tolbert 3-8 1-2 7, Gregory 4-8 0-0 8, McEldowney 4-11 3-3 11, Brown 7-13 0-1 15, Rhodes 0-1 0-0 0, Gray 1-3 1-2 3, Smith 3-7 2-2 9. Totals 30-62 7-11 71.
THOMAS MORE (94)
Barth 5-9 1-1 11, Hurst 9-14 0-0 21, Clos 4-10 2-2 11, McNutt 3-7 1-2 8, Simon 2-6 2-2 6, Secrist 4-6 2-2 10, Schwarber 4-6 0-0 9, Jones 3-7 2-2 9, White 2-5 5-6 9, Brenner 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-70 16-18 94.
HALFTIME: TMU 47-35. 3-POINTERS: (TMU 6-19, IUE 4-17). REBOUNDS: TMU 40 (McNutt, Schwarber 8), IUE 26 (Tolbert 9).
RECORDS: Thomas More 1-0, Indiana East 0-1.
