NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - Sophomore guard Mark DeMonaco (New Castle/New Castle H.S.) bucketed a game-high 27 points to lead five double-digit scorers for the Westminster men's basketball team, which opened Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play with a 106-103 home win over Thiel College at Buzz Ridl Gymnasium. The Titans have now surpassed 100 points in four of the last five games, all of them wins, and are now 6-9 overall and 1-0 in league play. The Tomcats fell to 6-10, 0-1 in the PAC, after having their two-game win streak snapped.
The first half was marked by fouls, as a combined total of 31 fouls (17 Westminster, 14 Thiel) were whistled resulting in a combined 39 free throws. The game went back and forth until Westminster put together 20-7 run over the final 5:04 of the period to tunr a 38-36 lead into a 15-point halftime advantage (58-43). The Tomcats quickly cut the lead back to single digits early in the second half. Westminster held a 6-to-10 point lead for most of the period until a late Thiel run, which saw the Tomcats close within three points (102-99) with 1:20 to play on a jumper by Mike Banach. However, the Titans answered with a three-pointer by junior forward Pat O'Connor (Pittsburgh/Keystone Oaks H.S.) for a 105-99 with 48 seconds to play and kept it a two-possession game until Thiel scored the game's final points with two seconds left.
DeMonaco, who also dished out a game-high five assists, was joined in double figures by junior guard Ed Pagley (New Castle/New Castle H.S.) with 21 points, sophomore guard Brian Fadden (New Castle/Mohawk H.S.) with 16, sophomore forward Dom Joseph (New Castle/New Castle H.S.) with 14, and sophomore forward Shane McCullough (New Castle/Neshannock H.S.) with 10. Banach tallied a team-high 21 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for Thiel, which outrebounded Westminster 57-33 and had seven players score in double figures.
The Titan men's basketball team will conclude its current four-game home stand this Wednesday, Jan. 21, as Westminster hosts local PAC rival Grove City College at Buzz Ridl Gymnasium at 8 p.m.
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