NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – The Westminster College men's basketball team lost, 56-54, to Saint Vincent College at home in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) showdown Saturday evening.
 
Both teams were tied for first in the PAC standings coming into tonight's game.
 
Saint Vincent (10-5, 7-1 PAC) took a 10-2 lead with 14:09 remaining in the first half. Westminster (12-3, 6-2 PAC) answered with an 11-4 run, capped off with a three-pointer by sophomore Cameron Kane-Johnson (Niles, OH / Niles), to cut the Bearcats' lead to 14-13 with 11:25 on the clock. After Saint Vincent led 18-13 with 9:26 remaining, the Titans took their first lead of the game (20-18) with a 7-0 run, capped off with a layup by Kane-Johnson, with 5:29 left. The Bearcats, however, responded as they outscored Westminster 12-2 for the remainder of the frame and led 30-22 at halftime. The Bearcats were up by as much as 11 points three times in the second half, with the latest coming with 8:19 on the clock (46-35). For the next seven minutes, Westminster got within three points of Saint Vincent's lead four times, with the latest coming at the 1:01 mark when Kane-Johnson made a layup (52-49). With 35 seconds remaining in the game, junior Austin Armwood (Columbus, OH / Westerville North) earned a steal and found Kane-Johnson for a three-pointer, cutting the Bearcats' lead to 54-52 with about 30 seconds remaining. Saint Vincent's Kyle Evans sealed the win with a layup with 11 seconds left, putting the Bearcats up 56-52. The Titans were unable to make a three-pointer twice in the final seconds and Scott scored the final points for Westminster with a layup with one second left.
 
Kane-Johnson scored a game-high 14 points. Senior Jarret Vrabel (Canfield, OH / Canfield), senior Deontay Scott (Youngstown, OH / East), and sophomore Lloyd Chatman (Columbus, OH / Reynoldsburg) each registered nine points. Junior Marco Delorenzo (Canfield, OH / Canfield) tied a career-high with a game-high eight rebounds, while Scott added seven boards. Vrabel and sophomore Blake Payne (Ashtabula, OH / Jefferson Area) each had two blocks. Armwood pocketed a team-high two steals.
 
The Bearcats slightly outshot the Titans, 36.2% (21-58) to 36.1% (22-61), and held a 45-36 advantage in rebounds.
 
Westminster will next play at PAC foe Geneva College Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m.