NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – The Westminster College men's basketball team won convincingly, 74-52, over Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) foe Grove City College in the Titans' regular season finale at home Wednesday evening.
Westminster (15-10, 10-6 PAC), up 11-8 in the first half, went on a 10-0 run to lead 21-8 with 11 minutes left in the first half. Grove City (16-8, 12-3 PAC), who stands first in the PAC standings, responded with an 11-2 run to cut the Titans' lead to 23-19 with six minutes on the clock. Westminster regained its double-digit lead off of a 6-0 run and was ahead, 29-19, with just under five minutes remaining. The Titans took their largest lead of 15 points (36-21) of the frame with 1:51 left. Westminster held a double-digit, 36-25 lead at halftime.
The Wolverines came out of halftime with a 9-2 run to cut Westminster's lead to 38-34 with 18 minutes left. The Titans regained their double-digit lead with a 9-2 run of their own and led 47-36 with just under 13 minutes left. The Wolverines managed to cut the Titans' lead to single digits (51-43) one last time with 10 minutes to play. Westminster pulled away, outscoring Grove City 23-9 in the final minutes.
Four Titans scored in double-digits, including senior Blake Payne (Ashtabula, OH / Jefferson Area) who led all scorers with a season-high 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Juniors Isaac Stamatiades (Elkridge, MD / Avalon) and Daniel Ritter (North Lima, OH / South Range) both scored 14 points. Senior Dylan O'Hara (Girard, OH / Girard) registered 11 points, to go along with a game-high five steals. Stamatiades led on the glass with a game-high eight rebounds, while Payne grabbed seven boards. Senior Ricky Roth (Ellwood City, PA / Lincoln) dished out a game-high four assists.
Westminster, on a three-game winning streak, will next play in the PAC Tournament starting next week.