NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - The Westminster College men's basketball team upset first-place Bethany, 79-77, at home Wednesday to clinch a fourth seed and a home game in the first round of next week's Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Tournament.
The fourth-seeded Titans (7-17, 5-7 PAC) will host fifth-seed Thomas More in the tournament on Tuesday at 8 p.m. Bethany (15-9, 9-2 PAC) has already locked up the top seed.
After Westminster sophomore forward Ryne Murray (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) missed a free throw with six seconds remaining and a two-point lead, Bethany's Brody Jackson was fouled while missing a running jumper at the buzzer. Jackson missed his first free throw and the game was over.
Murray led all scorers with 22 points on 10-18 shooting to go with 10 rebounds. Senior guard Craig Hannon (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) bucketed 20 points while junior guard David Richards (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) tossed in 17 points.
Murray has scored over 20 points in each of his last three games and his double-double is his 12th of the season. Hannon has now scored 20 or more points in 12 games this season and Richards has now scored in double figures seven times this year.
Jackson led the Bison with 23 points followed by Carey Palermo and Petre Petkovski with 14 points apiece.
Westminster trailed 39-37 at the half and by as many as 11 points (54-43 with 13:03 remaining) in the second half. The Titans then went on a 16-2 run, culminating with Hannon making a lay-up at 9:50 that gave Westminster a 59-56 lead.
Bethany re-took the lead and Westminster did not relinquish the lead until senior guard/forward Chauncey Whitlow (Youngstown, Ohio/Woodrow Wilson) threw down a fast-break dunk at 1:30 that put the Titans up 76-75. After a Hannon layup, followed by a Jackson lay-in, Whitlow sank one of two foul shots, the latter rebounded by Murray who was fouled. Murray then missed his foul shot and that set up the dramatic finish.
Other notables for Westminster included Whitlow scoring eight points and senior center Jake Zatchok (Berlin Center, Ohio/Western Reserve) scoring six while raking in a career-high 11 rebounds.
Westminster plays its regular-season finale at Geneva Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
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 366 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.
