INDIANA, Pa. – The Westminster College men's basketball team lost, 106-77, at No. 8 nationally ranked Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) Monday night.
Westminster (1-2) held an early 5-4 lead, all five Titan points were scored by senior
Marco Delorenzo (Canfield, OH / Canfield), in the opening minutes of the game (17:17). IUP (4-0) answered with a 9-0 run to take a 13-5 lead with 15:15 on the clock. The Crimson Hawks took their first double-digit lead of the game (29-19) with 9:47 left and had their largest lead of the first half (38-21) with 7:01 on the clock. The Titans responded with a 16-4 run, capped off with a three-pointer by Delorenzo, cutting IUP's lead to five points (42-37) with 3:30 left. The Crimson Hawks did not let the Titans get any closer and led, 52-42, at halftime.
In the second half, senior
Austin Armwood (Columbus, OH / Westerville North) got the Titans within single digits of IUP's lead (66-57) with a layup at the 12:20 mark. The Crimson Hawks, however, regained a double-digit lead and maintained it for the remainder of the contest.
Delorenzo led the Titan offense with a team-high 22 points, one point shy from tying a career-high, which included a game- and career-high five three-pointers (5-of-6). Armwood also scored in double digits for the Titans with 15 points (6-of-10), including three three-pointers. Junior
Dylan O'Hara (Girard, OH / Girard) added eight points, while sophomore
Anthony Ritter (North Lima, OH / South Range) and junior
Blake Payne (Ashtabula, OH / Jefferson Area) each had seven. Sophomore
Daniel Ritter (North Lima, OH / South Range) led the Titans with five rebounds. Delorenzo and Payne each had four boards. Armwood dished out a team-best seven assists. Sophomore
Isaac Stamatiades (Elkridge, MD / Avalon) had a block and a team-high two steals.
IUP outshot Westminster 54.8% (40-73) to 51.8% (29-56). The Titans' shooting percentage was the highest against the Crimson Hawks this season. IUP held a 34-25 advantage in rebounds.
The Titans are back on the court at Division I Youngstown State University on Wednesday, November 21 at 7 p.m.
