NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - The Westminster College men's basketball team lost its Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) opener against visiting Bethany, 85-67, Wednesday night at the Buzz Ridl Gymnasium.
The Titans fall to 1-4 on the season and 0-1 in the PAC, while the Bison improve to 3-3 overall and 1-0 in the league.
Junior guard Max Spinner (Boca Raton, Fla./Boca Raton) led the Titans with 16 points, including 3-8 shooting from 3-point range. Freshman guard Reuben King (Tarentum, Pa./Highlands) also bucketed 15 points on 4-6 shooting from the field and freshman forward Adam Carswell (Painesville, Ohio/Notre Dame Cathedral Latin) tossed in 10 points on a perfect 4-4 shooting.
Other notables for Westminster included sophomore forward Rob Briggs (Saxonburg, Pa./Knoch) grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds to go with nine points and sophomore guard Cameron McCleary (Newton Falls, Ohio/Newton Falls) leading the Titans with five assists while scoring two points.
Five Bison scored in double figures led by Nick Wilcox with 16 points on 8-10 shooting, followed by Dustin Opalka and Damien Green with 12 apiece, Joe Testa with 11 and Nick Thomas with 10.
Bethany shot 50.8 percent (33-65) from the field, compared to Westminster a 46.3 percent (25-54). The Bison held a 39-31 rebound advantage and Westminster committed 19 turnovers to Bethany's 12.
Bethany went on a 20-2 run late in the first half before leading 43-23 at halftime. The Bison led by as many as 31 points in the second half before Westminster whittled the deficit down to 11 points with 6:09, but that was as close as the Titans would get.
Westminster travels to Saint Vincent on Saturday at 8 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.
