NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - The Westminster College men's basketball team wrapped up its regular season on Saturday with a 69-47 loss at home to Grove City in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game. The Titans (7-18, 3-9 PAC) will be the No. 6 seed in next week's PAC tournament and they will play at No. 3 Bethany on Tuesday night. Grove City (17-8, 9-3 PAC) clinched the top seed with the win and will receive a bye in the first round.
Sophomore forward Rob Briggs (Saxonburg, Pa./Knoch) led the Titans with 13 points and nine rebounds, marking the second time this season that he led Westminster in scoring. Senior Ryne Murray (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair), who led Westminster in scoring for 15 of the last 17 games, bucketed 12 points and pulled down eight rebounds.
Murray moved into eighth place on Westminster's career scoring list with 1,513 points, surpassing Craig Randall who had 1,503 points from 1980-84.
Freshman guard Reuben King (Tarentum, Pa./Highlands) scored 11 points for Westminster, marking his third straight game scoring in double figures and the fourth of his career.
Drew Vandermeer and Brett Matson led Grove City with 18 points apiece, followed by Jeff Newell with 10. Vandermeer also pulled down a team-high five rebounds.
Grove City led by as many as 13 points (23-10) in the first half before leading 33-24 at halftime. After the Wolverines went up by 16 points with 14:08 left in the game, Westminster went on a 15-4 run to close the gap to three points at 49-46 with 8:57 remaining. However, Grove City then went on an 18-1 run to take a 20-point, 67-47 lead with 1:26 left in the game.
The Titans shot 36.7 percent (18-49) from the field compared to Grove City at 54.0 percent (27-50). The Titans out-rebounded the Wolverines 33-24, but committed 25 turnovers to Grove City's 19.
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.
