NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - Despite leading 37-31 at halftime, the Westminster College men's basketball team lost 77-71 to Thomas More College at home on Saturday.
Thomas More (14-6, 9-2 PAC) led 17-9 with 12:19 remaining in the first half. Westminster (5-14, 2-8 PAC) followed with a 13-5 run to tie the game at 22 after junior Paul Carswell (Painesville, OH / Notre Dame Cathedral Latin) made a three-point field goal with 7:08 on the clock. Westminster took its first lead and led by as much as eight points (37-29) after sophomore Jason Pilarski (Pittsburgh, PA / Brentwood) found classmate Garrett Ashbaugh (Mars, PA / Mars) for a three-pointer with 2:32 remaining. The Titans led 37-31 at intermission.
The Titans continued their offensive surge in the second half and took their largest lead, 52-42, when freshman Brandon Domenick (New Castle, PA / New Castle) drained a three-pointer with 14:30 on the clock. The Saints responded with a 13-2 run to regain the lead at 55-54 with 9:57 remaining. Four ties followed with the latest coming at 4:10 with the score of 65-65. The Saints got back on top and sealed the victory after shooting 12-for-15 from the free throw line in the final three minutes.
Freshman Deontay Scott (Youngstown, OH / East) led all scorers with a career-high 24 points after shooting 8-for-10 from the field and 8-for-9 from the charity stripe. Carswell and junior Charlie Wallander (Pittsburgh, PA / Baldwin) also scored in double-digits with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Domenick led on the glass with a game- and career-high eight rebounds to go along with eight points. Carswell added seven points.
Westminster out-shot Thomas More 42.6% (23-54) to 38.3% (23-60) and out-rebounded the Saints 40-33.
The Titans will next host Grove City College on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
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.
