NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - The Westminster College men's basketball team absorbed a 95-80 loss at home to defending Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) champion Thomas More on Saturday.
The Titans fall to 2-6 overall and 0-2 in the PAC, while the Saints up their record to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in the league.
Four Titans scored in double figures, led by junior guard Max Spinner (Boca Raton, Fla./Boca Raton) with 15 points on 6-11 shooting from the field. Sophomore forward Rob Briggs (Saxonburg, Pa./Knoch) bucketed a season-high 14 points while grabbing a game-high nine rebounds. Freshman guards Liam Halferty (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) and Ron Martino (Boardman, Ohio/Cardinal Mooney) each scored 13 points for Westminster, both one point shy of each of their career highs.
Daniel McKeehan led Thomas More with a game-high 21 points, followed by Aaron Miller with 20, Daniel Neeley with 15 and Johnny Bovard with 14. McKeehan handed out a team-high four assists and tied two other teammates with a team-high six rebounds.
Both teams shot 55 percent from the field with Thomas More making 36 of 65 and Westminster 33 of 60. The Saints held a slight rebound (33-30) and turnover (21-22) advantage.
After scoring the first nine points of the game, Thomas More led the entire game and led by as many as 20 points (44-24) in the first half before leading 52-36 at halftime.
The Titans made a game of it midway through the second half when Halferty drained a 3-pointer that capped off a 9-0 run and cut the Saints' deficit to 59-54 with 12:50 remaining in the game. However, Thomas More quickly re-established an 11-point lead by the 11:18 mark and a 20-point lead by the 7:09 mark. The Saints led by as many as 28 points down the stretch before coming away with the 15-point win.
Westminster will next travel to California for four games including two at Westmont's Tom Byron Classic Dec. 29-30 and two at California Tech's Holiday Classic Jan. 2-3.
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.
