Men's Basketball rolled past the Hope College Flying Dutchman in the opening round of the 37th annual Lopata Classic. The Celts were fueled by their best shooting performance of the season, connecting on 62 percent of their shots from the floor, while shooting 42 percent from behind the arc.
St. Thomas and Hope College would trade buckets for the first 10 minutes of the opening half. The Celts would take the lead after constructing an 11-1 run, highlighted by back-to-back Ricky Altamirano three-pointers with just over eight minutes to play. To close out the frame, St. Thomas would shoot 60 percent from the field en route to building an 18-point advantage.
The hot-shooting Celts would keep their foot on the gas in the second half, and would quickly put the game out of reach, ballooning their lead to 31 points. As the final buzzer sounded, St. Thomas would punch their ticket to the championship game after an impressive 84-61 victory.
Freddie Ricks III had his most efficient performance of the season, shooting 77 percent from the field while draining four three-pointers. Ricks would log a game-high 19 points to compliment his three steals and four rebounds.
Continuing his dominance in the paint was Joshua Sanchez, who posted 14 points on six of eight shooting. Sanchez would be the focal point of the Celts offense, dishing out a game high three assists.
Christian Alaekwe and Ricky Altamirano would both reach double figures, chipping in ten apiece.
The Celts advance to 5-2 overall for the season. They are set to face off with the winner of Washington University-St. Louis (No. 20) and Hendrix College. The final round of the Lopata Classic will tip-off tomorrow at 5:30PM CST.
