NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – The Westminster men's basketball team lost, 81-79, at home against Washington & Jefferson in their Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) opener on Wednesday night.
 
Westminster (3-2, 0-1 PAC) and Washington & Jefferson (5-2, 1-0 PAC) went back and forth as the game tipped off, and were tied at 5 with 16:59 to play in the first. The Titans held a slight lead (8-7) until the Presidents scored 17 of the next 18 points to take a 22-9 lead with 11:27 left in the first. Westminster fought back to cut Washington & Jefferson's lead to two (25-23) and then eventually took the lead (32-31) off a fast break layup from senior Daniel Ritter (North Lima, OH / South Range) with 2:22 remaining. The Titans were able to grasp momentum and take a 38-35 lead to intermission.
 
As the second half started, Westminster jumped out to its biggest lead of the game at 56-47 with 14:38 left in regulation. Later on, the Presidents would not go quietly as they came back to take the lead 65-64 with eight minutes remaining. Neither team would yield as they both made momentum-grabbing plays. With 6:22 left on the clock and the Presidents leading, 70-64, the veteran experience of the Titans proved to be twofold as they pressured Washington & Jefferson in making mistakes, however, the Presidents took advantage of Westminster's foul situation to salvage a win.
 
The Titans were led by sophomore Reese Leone (Beloit, OH / West Branch) who tied a team-high 17 points to go along with three rebounds, two assists, and a steal. D. Ritter registered 17 points, seven boards, one steal, and one assist, followed by junior Tyler James (Youngstown, OH / Warren JFK) with 15 points, a team-high nine rebounds, and tied a team-best two rejections. Senior Anthony Ritter (North Lima, OH / South Range) chipped in with 14 points and career- and game-highs with four steals and six assists, classmate Josh Hutcherson (Uniontown, OH / Uniontown Lake) cleaned the glass with a career-high 12 boards.
 
Westminster shot 47.6% (30-63) from the field, 25% (5-20) from behind the arc, and 77.8% (14-18) from the charity stripe.
 
The Titans are back in action Saturday, December 4 as they travel to Greenville, Pa. to compete against Thiel in a PAC bout. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.