NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - Junior guard Max Spinner (Boca Raton, Fla./Boca Raton) posted new career highs with 25 points and six rebounds for the Westminster College men's basketball team in the team's home opener on Friday night, but the Titans (0-2) lost to visiting Allegheny, 100-77, in the first day of the 18th annual Buzz Ridl Classic at the Buzz Ridl Gymnasium.
Spinner shot 6 of 14 from the field including 4-9 from 3-point range while also sinking 9 of 12 free throws.
Spinner wasn't the only Titan to establish a new career high, as sophomore guard Anthony DeFelice (Poland, Ohio/Poland Seminary) bucketed a personal-best 15 points on 6-9 shooting from the floor. Freshman forward Adam Carswell (Painesville, Ohio/Notre Dame Cathedral Latin) sank a career-high 12 points while leading the Titans with four steals.
Junior forward Rob Briggs (Saxonburg, Pa./Knoch) was the fourth Titan to score in double figures as he tossed in 13 points to go with five rebounds.
The Titans had no answer for Allegheny center George Raftis, who shot a near-perfect 10-12 from the floor while leading the Gators with 24 points. Donte Briscoe also scored 20 points, while Charlie Jaicks and James Ness rounded out the double-figure scores for the Gators with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Ness grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and Raftis pulled down seven caroms.
Allegheny stormed out to a 29-9 lead in the first half and never looked back. The Gators led by as many as 29 points in the first half before leading 56-33 at halftime. The Titans could only cut the deficit to 12 points in the second half before the Gators cruised to the 23-point victory.
Westminster falls to 0-2 on the season and Allegheny wins its season opener to improve to 1-0. The Titans host Notre Dame (Ohio) (4-0) on Saturday at 4 p.m. in the second day of the Buzz Ridl Classic. Notre Dame was a 92-71 winner over Emory & Henry on Friday night the first game of the Buzz Ridl Classic. Emory & Henry (1-1) plays Allegheny at 2 p.m.
About Westminster College...
Founded in 1852 and related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Westminster College is a top tier liberal arts college and a national leader in graduation rate performance, according to U.S. News Guide to America's Best Colleges. Westminster ranked third among liberal arts colleges in social mobility, according to the Washington Monthly College Guide, and is one of the most affordable national liberal arts colleges in Pennsylvania. Westminster is also honored as one of "The Best 371 Colleges" and "Best in the Northeast" by The Princeton Review, and is named to the President's Honor Roll for excellence in service learning.
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. Visit www.westminster.edu/advantage to view "Advantage: Westminster" A Strategic Plan 2010-2020.
