NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - The Westminster College men's basketball team scored just 17 second-half points in a 68-49 loss at home to Bethany Saturday in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) action. Westminster failed to score 50 points for the first time this season and 60 points for only the second time.
The Titans fall to 4-14 overall and 1-7 in the PAC while the Bison improve to 12-5 overall and 6-2 in league play.
Sophomore guard Doug Smith (South Park, Pa./South Park) led the Titans with 20 points, a game-high nine rebounds and four assists. Smith shot 6-16 from the floor, including 3-9 from 3-point range, and 5-5 from the foul line.
Smith, who scored 22 points in his last game and a career-high 27 in a loss at Bethany earlier this season, posted his fourth career 20-point game.
Freshman guard Christian Shea (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) and junior forward Rob Briggs (Saxonburg, Pa./Knoch) rounded out Westminster's leading scorers with 10 and 9 points, respectively.
Westminster shot 47.8 percent (11-23) in the first half before cooling off in the second half, making just 25.0 percent (7-28) of its shots to finish the game at 35.3 percent (18-51).
Four Bison scored in double figures led by Nick Wilcox with a game-high 21 to go with a team-high eight rebounds. James Barton bucketed 14 points and British Alexander and Reece Mabery each had 10 points to round out Bethany's double-digit scorers.
Bethany led by as many as 11 points in the first half before leading 40-32 at halftime.
After Smith made a lay-up that cut Bethany's lead to 45-39 with 15:00 left, Westminster made just three field goals for the remainder of the game and one occurred in the waning seconds with Bethany leading by 23 points.
Despite Westminster's offensive futility, the Titans were within seven points (51-44) with 9:38 remaining. Bethany then went on a 12-0 run to take a 19-point, 63-44 lead with two minutes left.
Westminster travels to Saint Vincent Wednesday for an 8 p.m. tip-off.
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.
