IRVING, Texas -- Andrew Adebo's layup at the buzzer lifted the University of St. Thomas to a 61-60 win over Schreiner University in semifinal round action of the 2025 SCAC Men's Basketball Tournament on Saturday evening at the Maher Athletic Center at the University of Dallas, who is serving as the host institution for this year's tournament.
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Trailing 60-59 with three seconds remaining in the second half, Adebo took an inbounds pass all the way to the rim and beat the buzzer with his layup to provide the winning margin. St. Thomas opened the game on an 11-2 run over the game's opening four minutes before Schreiner was able to cut the lead to 11-8 on a Beau Cervantes 3-pointer at the 15:29-mark. The first half remained a tightly contested affair as neither team was able to run away with momentum in the early going. The Mountaineers tied the game thanks to a free throw from Kamden Ross with just over five minutes before halftime. Schreiner pushed its lead to 33-23 at halftime on a layup from CJ Ward.
The second half saw Schreiner extend the lead to 42-27 at the 13:20-mark after Justin Gooden's layup. The Celts then responded with a 12-3 run to cut the Mountaineer lead to 45-39 at the 8:36-mark. A Mario Johnson jumper extended the Schreiner lead to 14 (53-39) with 6:42 to play. From there, St. Thomas used a 15-0 run to tie the game on a trio of Marion Williams free throws with just 3:35 to play in regulation. Schreiner took a 60-59 lead with 30 seconds remaing after two free throws from Ross.
Andrew Adebo takes the ball the length of the floor and finishes with the layup at the buzzer! St. Thomas (Texas) @USTceltsMBB comes back from a 15-point deficit to knock off Schreiner in the @SCAC_Sports MBB semifinals, 61-60! #d3hoops pic.twitter.com/bhzVGJKIYF
— D3hoops/Patrick Coleman (@d3hoops) March 2, 2025
After Williams missed a jumper with just seconds remaining that would have given St. Thomas the lead, Ross went to the free throw line and missed the front end of a one-and-one. The Celts' Nathan Kongolo grabbed the rebound which then set the stage for Adebo's heroics.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Despite 22 turnovers, St. Thomas kept itself in the game thanks to a massive edge in fast break points (22-7 in favor) and bench points (30-7 in favor).
- Schreiner outrebounded St. Thomas by a 54-43 margin.
- Both teams shot under 40.0 perent from the field for the game.
- The Moutaineers shot a sizzling 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from beyond the arc. The Celts were limited to just 12.0 percent (3-of-25) from 3-point range.
- The game featured five ties and eight lead changes.
- Kamden Ross: 17 points, 13 rebounds,
- CJ Ward: 9 points, 15 rebounds
- Beau Cervantes: 14 points, 4-of-8 3FG's, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
- Mario Johnson: 8 points, 4 rebounds
- Marion Williams: 15 points, 5-of-7 FT's, 2 rebounds
- Andrew Adebo: 11 points, 14 rebounds (7 offensive), 5-of-10 FG's, 1 assist, 1 steal
- Angel Johnson: 11 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 6 steals
- Nicholas Buffalo: 8 points
- St. Thomas advances to the SCAC championship game for the third time in program history and first time since winning the title in 2022.
- The Celts are 2-0 all-tie in the championship game (2021 and 2022 championships).
- St. Thomas improves to 6-2 in SCAC tournament play.
- Schreiner falls to 10-9 all-time in SCAC postseaon competition.
