BETHANY, W.Va. - Sophomore guard Doug Smith (South Park, Pa./South Park) led the Westminster College men's basketball team back from a 21-point, first-half deficit in Wednesday night's Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) opener at Bethany, but the Titans wound up losing 75-74. Smith scored a career-high 27 points before missing a potential game-winning jumper with eight seconds left.
The Titans fall to 1-4 on the season and 0-1 in the PAC, while the Bison improve to 4-3 overall and 1-0 in league play.
Smith shot 7-14 from the field including 6-10 from 3-point range while also shooting a perfect 7-7 from the free-throw line. Other notables for the Titans included freshman guard Christian Shea (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) scoring 13 points on 5-8 shooting from the field, junior forward Rob Briggs (Saxonburg, Pa./Knoch) ripping down a game-high 11 rebounds to go with seven points, and freshman guard Anthony Thomas (New Castle, Pa./Union) handing out a team-high five assists to go with nine points.
Five Bethany players scored in double figures led by Ryan McFadden bucketing 16 points and tying a team high with nine rebounds. British Alexander and Reece Mabery also scored 12 apiece with Mabery posting game high totals of seven assists and five steals.
Bethany led by as many as 21 points when the Bison took a 43-22 lead with 3:27 left in the first half. After Bethany led 47-32 at halftime, Westminster went on a 20-7 run in the first seven minutes of the second half that was culminated by Smith splashing a pair of 3-pointers, the first cutting the deficit to five points (52-47) and the second to two points (54-52).
Westminster eventually held a short-lived lead after Shea hit a 3-pointer to put the Titans up 65-63 with seven minutes remaining. The Titans would never lead again after Bethany tied the game with 6:34 remaining and retook the lead with 5:47 on the clock.
After Briggs sank a pair of free throws to cut Bethany's lead to one point with 1:04 remaining, Westminster regained possession with 27 seconds left and Smith missed a jumper with eight ticks remaining.
Westminster returns home to face Saint Vincent Saturday at 4 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, a national leader in graduation rate performance, and a "Great School, Great Price," according to U.S. News Best Colleges guide. Westminster ranked 38th among liberal arts colleges, 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 373 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.
