News Release

New Wilmington, Pa. — Junior guard Ed Pagley and sophomore forward Dom Joseph each scored a team-high 23 points tonight, leading the Westminster College men's basketball team to an 86-72 win over Waynesburg College in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament semifinal game at Buzz Ridl Gymnasium. Westminster, the top seed in the tournament, improved to 14-12 overall, while fourth-seeded Waynesburg saw its season end at 11-16.

With the victory, the Titans will now host the 2004 PAC Championship game this Saturday, Feb. 28, against second-seeded Bethany College at Buzz Ridl Gymnasium. Bethany advanced to the finals via a 78-71 home win over third-seeded Grove City in Bethany, W.Va., tonight.

Westminster never trailed in the contest, as the Titans jumped out to a quick 11-2 lead in the first 2:46, only to see Waynesburg rally to tie the score 12-12 with 13:05 to go in the first half. It would be the last tie of the game, as the Titans steadily built their lead the rest of the period and went into halftime with a 10-point advantage (44-34). The Titans held a 6-to-10 point lead for most of the second half, with the Yellow Jackets getting as close as five points once (61-56 with 11:02 to play). However, leading 68-62 with 6:45 left, Westminster outscored Waynesburg 18-10 the rest of the way to ice the victory.

In addition to tying Pagley for team scoring honors, Joseph also hauled in a game-high 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Other Titans scoring in double digits included sophomore guard Mark DeMonaco with 17 points and junior forward Pat O'Connor with 16 points. Sophomore guard Brian Fadden came off the bench to dish out a team-high five assists, while Joseph and Pagley tied for the team lead in steals with three apiece. For Waynesburg, Shawn Coleman scored a team-best 14 points off the bench, while Beau Wilson dished out a game-high seven assists.

Westminster outrebounded Waynesburg 48-44 in the contest. The Titans connected on 13-of-46 three-pointers in the win, marking the 16th consecutive game Westminster has made at least 10 treys.