NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – The Westminster College men's basketball team won, 67-60, over non-conference foe Defiance College in its season-opener in day one of its annual Buzz Ridl Classic on Friday.
The back-and-forth contest consisted of seven ties and six lead changes.
Westminster (1-0) had its largest lead of the first half when junior
Ricky Roth (Ellwood City, PA / Lincoln) found sophomore
Daniel Ritter (North Lima, OH / South Range) for a layup, putting the Titans up 13-9 with 10:27 remaining. Defiance (0-3) had its largest lead of the first half with 5:58 left (18-13). The Titans responded with a 10-3 run to go in front 23-21 with 2:38 left. The Yellow Jackets went back in front and led 28-25 at halftime.
In the second half, Westminster took a 52-45 lead with 7:27 to play. Defiance orchestrated a 13-5 run to lead 58-57. That, however, would be the last time the Yellow Jackets led as Westminster would outscore them 10-2 for the remainder of the game.
Junior
Dylan O'Hara (Girard, OH / Girard) tied a team-high with a career-high 11 points. O'Hara also had seven rebounds, pocketed a team-high three steals, and converted a team-high four free throws, all of which came in the last minute of play. Senior
Austin Armwood (Columbus, OH / Westerville North) also tied a team-high 11 points and recorded a team-high four assists. Sophomore
Josh Hutcherson (Uniontown, OH / Uniontown Lake) tallied a career-high 10 points and tied a game-high with a career-high two blocks. Junior
Blake Payne (Ashtabula, OH / Jefferson Area) registered a team-best eight rebounds and totaled nine points. Senior
African Grant II (Warren, OH / Warren JFK) totaled seven points and tied a game-high with two blocks.
Defiance outshot Westminster 38.5% (20-52) to 36.2% (25-69). The Titans totaled 46 rebounds, compared to 41 by the Yellow Jackets.
Prior to tip-off, Westminster announced its basketball court will be named after late Titan men's basketball standout and long-time coach Ron Galbreath inside Buzz Ridl Gymnasium.
In the first game of the Classic, Thiel College topped SUNY Geneseo, 69-54.
The Titans will close out the Buzz Ridl Classic tomorrow against SUNY Geneseo at 4 p.m.
