CLEVELAND, GA. |
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Truett McConnell's defense forced 25 turnovers en route to a 67-55 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) victory over St. Andrews University (N.C.) Tuesday evening. The 55 points given up was the second fewest points allowed by the Bears all season. The win gave TMU the season sweep over the Knights.
The Bears, who lead the entire NAIA Division II in steals, nabbed another 18 last night. Junior guard Christian Davis led the heist with five of his own. Davis is also number one in the nation for both total steals (73) and steals per game (2.92).
"We applied good pressure all night, and I thought our gap coverage was excellent as well," said TMU Head Coach Jon Yeh. "Really, I'm quite confounded. For a team that doesn't press much to lead the nation in steals is quite remarkable."
On the offensive end, the Bears were led by freshman point guard Myles Monroe, who flirted with a triple-double. Monroe posted career highs with 20 points and 9 assists to go along with 8 rebounds and 4 steals. Davis and fellow junior Filipe Goncalves contributed 13 points each.
"Our offensive execution was not as good as our defense. Uncharacteristically, we missed a lot of lay-ups tonight. But I felt we made shots in runs which gave us a comfortable lead," said Yeh.
After the Knights led the opening minutes, the Bears seized control with a 12-0 run midway through the first half. Goncalves' two free throws gave TMU a 17-12 lead with just under 10 minutes remaining in the half. A 3-pointer from junior Jacob Booke extended TMU's lead to 10 points with just under four minutes left. St. Andrew's clawed back, and the Bears led 36-31 at the intermission.
TMU opened the second half with a 10-2 run, bookended by a pair of Davis 3-pointers. The lead grew to as many as 17 points after a Monroe basket with just over 10 minutes remaining. TMU led comfortably the rest of the way.
Prior to the game, the Bears recognized the White County Middle School 7th Grade Boys Basketball Team which finished the season 14-1 and captured both the North Georgia Mountain League's regular season and tournament championships.
The Bears now sit at 15-10 and 8-8 in AAC play. TMU will resume conference play Thursday when the team travels to Point University (West Point, Ga.). Tip time is scheduled for 7:30 pm.
