NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - The Westminster College men's basketball team lost its home-opener against Pitt-Bradford, 81-74, Tuesday night at the Buzz Ridl Gymnasium.
Junior forward Ryne Murray (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) led the Titans with 22 points on 7-17 shooting from the floor while also dishing out a game-high four assists.
Senior guard David Richards (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) bucketed 20 points on 7-11 shooting for the Titans, while freshman guard Cameron McCleary (Newton Falls, Ohio/Newton Falls) rounded out Westminster's double-figure scorers with a career-high 13 points.
Freshman forward Rob Briggs (Saxonburg, Pa./Knoch) reached double figures in rebounds for a second straight game as he snared a career-high 11 boards to go with six points.
Aaron Stang led the Panthers (1-1) with 19 points as one of four Pitt-Bradford players with double-digit points.
The Titans' largest lead of the game was a six-point, 20-14 showing with 8:37 left in the first half. After trailing 37-29 at halftime, and a deficit as many as 11 points in the second half, Westminster trailed by four points with 55 seconds left after Murray drained one of his three 3-pointers. That was as close as the Titans would get in the waning moments.
The Titans (0-2) return to action Thursday night when they host Carnegie Mellon at 7:30 p.m. in the first game of the three-day Buzz Ridl Classic.
About Westminster College...
Founded in 1852 and related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Westminster College is ranked 15th among liberal arts colleges, according to the Washington Monthly 2007 Annual College Guide. Westminster is a national leader in graduation rate performance, according to U.S. News Guide to America's Best Colleges, and is one of the most affordable national liberal arts colleges in Pennsylvania. Westminster is also honored as one of "The Best 368 Colleges" and "Best in the Northeast" by The Princeton Review, and was recognized by the Templeton Guide as a "Character Building College."
Nearly 1,600 undergraduate and graduate students benefit from individualized attention from dedicated faculty while choosing from 41 majors and nearly 100 organizations on the New Wilmington, Pa., campus.
