GROVE CITY, Pa. - The Westminster College men's basketball team moved a half game out of first place in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) with a thorough 78-57 win at Grove City on Thursday night.
The game was originally scheduled for Wednesday but was moved back one day because of inclement weather.
The win for the Titans (6-13, 5-2 PAC) sets up Saturday's 3 p.m. game at first-place Thomas More (12-7, 6-2 PAC). Grove City (10-7, 4-3), previously tied for second place with Westminster, falls to third place in the league.
Senior guard Bobby Glass (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock) led the Titans with 18 points, the second-most of his career, including 4-9 shooting from 3-point range.
Junior center Steve Bielich (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) and sophomore guard Max Spinner (Boca Raton Fla./Boca Raton) each scored 17 points. Spinner also sank four 3-pointers as the Titans shot 41.2 percent (14-34) from behind the arc and 46.4 percent (26-56) overall from the floor.
Junior guard Ryne Murray (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) scored 12 points and pulled down a career-high 22 rebounds. His 22 rebounds in a game are the third-most in Westminster history. He ties Bob Oravetz for third place on the rebounds list. Oravetz also grabbed 22 rebounds in a game at Grove City on Nov. 11, 1964. The record for rebounds in a game is held by Greg Foster with 24 at Pitt-Greensburg in 2003.
Senior guard David Richards (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) scored just two points but he handed out a career-high nine assists. Westminster dished out a season-high 20 assists as a team compared to 10 for Grove City.
Andy O'Keefe led Grove City with 16 points while Ryan King came off the bench to bucket 10 points. Grove City shot 40.4 percent (23-57) from the floor and just 13.3 percent (2-15) from 3-point range.
No team led by more than five points in the first half as Grove City held a 30-29 halftime lead. Grove City had previously won 17 straight when leading at halftime.
The key stretch during the game occurred between the 18:00 and 14:41 marks of the second half. The Titans trailed by five (36-31) but went on an 18-5 run that included all of their points on six 3-point shots. Glass splashed three 3-pointers - the first, third and sixth during the stretch - while Spinner knocked down two straight and Murray added another.
Westminster then just ran away with the game, holding a double-figure lead for the final 7:03, at least a 15-point swell for the final 5:09, and its largest lead of 23 points after Spinner punctuated the game with a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left.
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.
