NEW WILMINGTON, Pa.--Westminster held off a late Saint Vincent surge to earn an 80-76 victory in the quarterfinal round of the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament Tuesday night at Ron Galbreath Court inside Buzz Ridl Gymnasium.

Westminster, the top seed in the PAC's North Division, improved to 18-8 overall. The Titans have won five straight and nine of their last 11. The No. 4 seed in the PAC's South Division, Saint Vincent finished its season 16-10. 

Westminster registered an 98-83 overtime regular season win over Saint Vincent in New Wilmington on Jan. 10. 

Graduate student DJ Harrell (Cleveland, Ohio, East Technical) scored a game-high 26 points, marking his 11th 20-point effort this season. Senior Trey DePietro (Boardman, Ohio, Boardman) finished with 16 points, five rebounds and three blocked shots. Senior Drew Weir (Salem, Ohio, Salem) and freshman Anthony Bruce (Cleveland, Ohio, Lutheran East) had nine points apiece. 

Jade Gales led Saint Vincent with 20 points. 

Westminster shot 56 percent from the field and went 13-of-15 from the free throw line in the first half to go into the break up 11, 44-33. Junior Skevos Kouros' (Youngstown, Ohio, Campbell) bucket with just over two minutes in regulation pushed Westminster's lead to 10, 75-65, before an 11-3 Saint Vincent run cut the lead to two, 78-76, on a pair of made free throws by Mike Iuzzolino. Harrell knocked down two free throws with four seconds left to secure the four-point win.

Westminster shot 50 percent from the floor (25-50) and finished 22-of-29 (.759) from the free throw line. The Titans had a 46-28 advantage in paint points. 

Up next:
Westminster will host Chatham (18-7), the the No. 2 seed in the PAC's South Division, Thursday in the PAC Championship Tournament semifinals. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Chatham, winners of four straight, edged Grove City 69-60 in its quarterfinal matchup Tuesday. 
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