GREENVILLE, Pa. - Playing on the road against the first place team in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), the Westminster College men's basketball team absorbed a 77-64 loss at Thiel Wednesday night. The Titans fall to 3-12 on the season and 0-6 in the PAC, while the Tomcats improve to 10-4 overall and remain unbeaten in league play at 6-0.
Sophomore guard Doug Smith (South Park, Pa./South Park) led the Titans with 17 points, including 5-16 shooting from 3-point range.
Freshman guard Anthony Thomas (New Castle, Pa./Union) returned from a two-game absence because of injury and scored 16 points while leading the Titans with five rebounds and five assists.
Junior forward Rob Briggs (Saxonburg, Pa./Knoch) bucketed 11 points, tied Thomas for the team high with five rebounds, and also set a new career high with four blocks.
Four Thiel players scored in double figures led by Ladell Trotty with 16 points. Blair Rozenblad scored 15 points while ripping down 18 rebounds. Lance Randall and Devon Adams scored 15 and 11 points, respectively.
Thiel out-rebounded the Titans 46-30 and the Tomcats shot a sizzling 56.6 percent (30-53) from the floor.
Thiel led by as many as 14 points in the first half before leading 42-31 at halftime. Early in the second half, the Tomcats went on a 10-0 run to take a 21-point, 54-33 lead with 16:34 remaining.
The Tomcats' lead swelled to as many as 25 points before the Titans chopped down the deficit to as little as 11 points.
Westminster travels to Geneva Saturday at 3 p.m. in a game that was originally scheduled for 7:30 p.m. but was moved ahead because of the Pittsburgh Steelers playoff game.
About Westminster College...
Founded in 1852 and related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Westminster College ranks first in the nation as "Best College for Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math," according to Forbes.com. Westminster 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.
