GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Westminster College men's basketball team lost, 73-72, following a second-half comeback and last-second jumper by Thiel College in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) matchup Wednesday evening.
The first 10 minutes of the first half was a close bout with a lead from either team not surpassing three points. Westminster (11-8, 6-4 PAC) took a double-digit lead (28-17), off the heels of an 11-0 run, with 6:45 remaining. Thiel (5-11, 4-5 PAC) got within four points, 37-33. The Titans led 41-33 at halftime.
The Titans were in the driving seat for the majority of the second half, including a 15-point lead (54-39) with 14 minutes remaining and an 11-point lead (63-52) with eight minutes left. The Tomcats came to life and chipped away at Westminster's lead down the stretch. Thiel, down by seven (72-65), outscored the Titans 8-0 in the final three minutes to seal the comeback-victory, capped off with Nyric Gosley's step-back game-winning deep jumper with 2.7 seconds on the clock. Despite two late possessions, Westminster was unable to get a shot off.
Three Titans scored in double-digits, led by junior Daniel Ritter (North Lima, OH / South Range), who tied a game-high 15 points. Junior Josh Hutcherson (Uniontown, OH / Uniontown Lake) (12) and sophomore Blake Payne (Ashtabula, OH / Jefferson Area) (10) also scored in double-figures. Hutcherson also rejected a game- and career-high four shots, while tying a career-high in rebounds with seven. Payne added six boards. Junior Isaac Stamatiades (Elkridge, MD / Avalon) added eight points, while leading the team in rebounds with 10. Senior Dylan O'Hara (Girard, OH / Girard) registered six points and five rebounds, to go along with four steals. Senior Preston Stitt (Boardman, OH / South Range) dished out a game-high five assists.
It was a tale of two halves shooting as Westminster outshot Thiel in the first half, 50.0% (17-34) to 35.29% (12-34), however, the Tomcats outshot the Titans in the second half, 55.56% (15-27) to 36.36% (12-33). Thiel held a slight advantage in rebounds, 41-40, for the game.
The Titans are back on the court Saturday, Feb. 1 with a home game versus Waynesburg University for their Senior Day starting at 3:30 p.m.
