Senior guard Chris Hatch (Canfield, OH/South Range H.S.) scored a career-high 29 points to lead the Westminster College men's basketball team to its sixth consecutive win this afternoon in Elizabethtown, Pa., as the Titan cagers won a thrilling 121-120 non-league overtime contest at Elizabethtown College. Westminster improved to 7-1 with the victory, while the Blue Jays dropped to 4-4.
Elizabethtown held a narrow lead for much of the first half and led 48-40 with 5:04 left in the period, when the Titans closed the half with a 19-9 run to take a 59-57 advantage into intermission. The teams then played a nip-and-tuck second half which featured six lead changes and 11 ties. The game was tied 108-108 with 34 seconds left when Hatch made a three-point play to give the Titans a 111-108 lead, but E-town answered with a three-pointer by Jon Connor with 29 seconds left to knot the score at 111-111. Westminster had two shots in the final seconds that missed, sending the game to OT. The Blue Jays jumped out to a quick 115-111 advantage, but the Titans rallied and re-took the lead for good on a pair of free throws by senior forward Dom Joseph (New Castle/New Castle H.S.) with 40 seconds left. After a Blue Jay turnover, Westminster held the ball until five seconds remained before a shot clock violation. The final Elizabethtown shot at the buzzer was off-line.
In addition to Hatch, other Titans to reach double figures in scoring included junior guard Mark DeMonaco (New Castle/New Castle H.S.) with 21 points, freshman guard Craig Hannon (New Castle/Union H.S.) with 19 points off the bench (including a team-high five three-pointers), Joseph and senior forward Pat O'Connor (Pittsburgh/Keystone Oaks H.S.) each with 13, and junior guard Brian Fadden (New Castle/Mohawk H.S.) with 10. O'Connor added a team-high eight rebounds, while Fadden dished out a team-best five assists and DeMonaco led the squad with four steals. Kyle Conrad paced E-town with 26 points.
Elizabethtown shot 57 percent from the field (47-of-83) to 42 percent for Westminster (38-of-91), while the Blue Jays also held a 56-44 trebounding advantage. The difference was beyond the arc, as the Titans drilled 17 three-pointers as a team (on 62 attempts) while the Blue Jays connected on just 2-of-14 treys.
Westminster looks to continue its winning ways this Monday (Dec. 11) with a non-conference game at La Roche College in Pittsburgh beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Founded in 1852 and related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Westminster College is ranked among national leaders in graduation rate performance, according to U.S. News Guide to America’s Best Colleges, and is one of the most affordable national liberal arts colleges in Pennsylvania. Westminster is also honored as one of 'The Best 357 Colleges' and 'Best 115 in the Mid-Atlantic' by The Princeton Review, and was recognized by the Templeton Guide as a 'Character Building College.'
Nearly 1,600 students benefit from individualized attention from dedicated faculty, while choosing from 40 majors and nearly 100 organizations on the New Wilmington, Pa. campus.