NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - The Westminster College men's basketball team won, 83-71, over the visiting Nittany Lions of Penn. State Beaver in the final game of the 23rd annual Buzz Ridl Classic.
Sophomore Matt Getsy (Mars, PA / Mars) and junior Charlie Wallander (Pittsburgh, PA / Baldwin) were both named on the All-Classic team for Westminster.
Penn. State (0-2) held a 34-27 lead, its largest of the game, with 2:56 remaining in the first half, however the Titans finished the half with a 6-0 run to cut the Nittany Lions' lead to 34-33 at intermission.
Westminster (2-0) took a 50-48 lead, its first since early in the first half, when sophomore Garrett Ashbaugh (Mars, PA / Mars) found classmate Tre Major (New Castle, PA / Union) for a jumper with 11:34 to play in regulation.
The Titans took their largest lead of the game, 83-68, after freshman Kyle Ritchey (Franklin, PA / Franklin Area) drained a pair of free throws with 36 seconds left.
Five Titans scored in double digits, led by Getsy with 20. Sophomore Tre Major (New Castle, PA / Union) provided a spark off the bench with 14 points. Freshman Jarret Vrabel (Canfield, OH / Canfield) and freshman Deontay Scott (Youngstown, OH / East) both registered double-doubles. Vrabel scored 10 points and had a game-high 13 rebounds, while Scott scored 10 points and grabbed down 11 boards.
The Titans out-shot the Beavers, 47.2% (25-53) to 31.9% (23-72), and out-rebounded Penn. State, 55-32.
The rest of the All-Classic Team included Thiel's Eric Mallinger and Luke Kochka, Penn. State Beaver's Lamont Wright, and Kenyon's Tim Connolly.
Westminster is back on the court Wednesday when it travels to Heidelberg University with a 7 p.m. game time.
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 Best Colleges guide. Westminster is also honored as one of "The Best 379 Colleges" 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.
