Men's Basketball: Despite First Half Lead, Titans Fall Short Versus Thiel

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - The Westminster College men's basketball team lost, 75-60, versus Thiel in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) action Wednesday night. The Titans dropped 2-4 overall and 0-3 in the PAC, while the Tomcats improved to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in conference play.


Westminster was ahead for the majority of the first half and had its largest lead, 23-14, when junior Anthony Thomas (New Castle, PA / Union) split a pair of free throws with 8:44 left in the half. Thiel responded with an 11-2 run to cut Westminster's lead to 26-25 with 1:30 remaining. A jumper by Westminster Paul Carswell (Painesville, OH / Notre Dame Cathedral Latin) gave the Titans a 28-25 halftime lead.


Westminster led 45-37 with 13:39 on the clock, however Thiel orchestrated a 9-0 run to take its first lead of game at 46-45. The Tomcats outscored Westminster 30-14 for the remainder of the game.


Senior Ron Martino (Youngstown, OH / Cardinal Mooney) led Titans with 18 points (8-for-12). Classmate Doug Smith (South Park, PA / South Park) followed with 14 points, including a game-high four three-pointers. Carswell and Thomas added 12 and 10 points, respectively. Sophomore Ben Donlow (Poland, OH / Poland Seminary) led Westminster with seven rebounds, followed by Smith and Carswell with six boards each.