NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - The Westminster College men's basketball team saw an 11-point lead with 5:24 remaining go by the wayside in a 71-68 loss to Washington & Jefferson Saturday. The Titans fall to 3-11 on the season and 0-5 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while W&J improves to 5-10 overall and 2-3 in the league.

Sophomore guard Doug Smith (South Park, Pa./South Park) came off the bench and led all scorers for Westminster with 19 points, including 6-10 shooting from the floor and 4-6 shooting from 3-point range.

Freshman guard Christian Shea (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) and junior guard Anthony DeFelice (Poland, Ohio/Poland Seminary) also scored in double figures for the Titans with 17 and 12 points, respectively. Shea was a tidy 5-6 shooting from 3-point range. DeFelice also led the Titans with five assists.

Junior forward Rob Briggs (Saxonburg, Pa./Knoch), the PAC's second-leading rebounder with 7.7 per game, led the Titans with 11 rebounds to go with his three points.

Four Presidents scored in double figures led by Paul Matthews with 18 points, followed by Brian Felker with 17, Zach Bellhy with 15 and Ben Cecchini with 12. Adam Braithwaite handed out a game-high nine assists for the Presidents to go with his seven points.

W&J shot 52 percent (26-50) from the floor for the third-highest percentage for a Westminster opponent this season. The Titans shot 42.3 percent (22-52) including a season-high 46.7 percent from 3-point range (14-30).  

After Westminster led 39-36 at halftime, the Titans were either tied or held a lead until 1:21 remaining in the game. That was when Bellhy drove the lane and scored while being fouled by DeFelice to give the Presidents their first lead at 68-66. Bellhy missed the foul shot and Smith knocked down a pair of free throws at the other end to tie the game at 68-68 with 1:06 left.

Matthews scored with 48 seconds left to give the Presidents' their final lead. After Cecchini made a free throw to put W&J up by three, Briggs missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with eight seconds left for the Titans.

Westminster, which has now lost eight straight PAC games dating back to last season, will travel to Thiel Wednesday for an 8 p.m. start.

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.