Behind Thomas' 26 Point Effort, Lions Hand Bluffton First Loss of the Season

LOCATION: CINCINNATI, Ohio (Harrington Center)

THE BASICS:
The Lions of Mount St. Joseph took down the previously unbeaten Beavers of Bluffton, 58-37 behind a dominant defensive effort on Saturday. The Lions got off to a quick start in the game behind a fast start offensively by Brady Thomas, who scored 18 of his season-high 26 points in the first half. The Lions raced out to an early lead and never looked back, never trailing in the game. 

HOW IT HAPPENED: 
For much of the early season the Lions have struggle offensively, that was not the case through the early going of this game. That was in large part due to the efforts of Thomas, who was on fire from the word opening tip-off. He drilled a pair of three's on the first two offensive possessions putting The Mount ahead early, and they would never trail in the game. They carried an 11-point advantage into the halftime break.

Coming out of the break, Bluffton was keyed up to stop Thomas so the Lions turned to Tanner Clos and David Luers who combined for 19 second half points.

Despite their offensive struggles of late, the Lions have been consistently turning in outstanding defensive efforts. Over their last four games they had been holding opponents to 60.75 points per game. In this one though they ratcheted up the defensive pressure even more, putting the clamps on Bluffton the entire way. They held the Beavers to a season-low 37 points, on 33.3 percent shooting.  

STANDOUTS:
Thomas was clearly the standout on the offensive end for the Lions, especially in the first half. Clos and Luers joined him in double-figures with 13 and 10 points respectively. Devin Young also had his finger prints all over this win, despite not having a great game offensively. He led the way with a game-high eight assists, three rebounds, one steal and a career-high four blocked shots. Avery Paddock had a solid game on the glass, leading the team with seven boards.

UP NEXT:
The Lions will play host to Franklin College on Thursday, February 11. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 7:30 PM, tune into MSJLions.com for all of your Lions coverage.