Junior forward Dom Joseph (New Castle/New Castle H.S.) scored the final two of his team-high 24 points on a layup with 19 seconds to play, helping the Westminster College men's basketball team overcome a 100-99 deficit in the final minute and defeat host Carnegie Mellon 102-100 in the championship game of the Ramada Plaza Suites/CMU Invitational in Pittsburgh. The Titans improved to 4-1 with the victory in the title tilt, while the host Tartans fell to 2-2 on the season.
CMU jumped out quickly against the Titans, taking a 17-6 lead in the first 5:28. However, the Titans rallied to take their first lead at 30-28 with 6:53 left in the half before heading intermission with a seven-point (50-43) advantage. Westminster held a single-digit lead for much of the second half until CMU tied the game at 69-69 with 11:15 left. The teams then exchanged the lead seven times with nine ties down the stretch. A layup by Nate Maurer gave Carnegie Mellon a 100-99 lead with 45 seconds left, but Joseph answered with 19 seconds left to put the Titans up 101-100. Titan junior guard Brian Fadden (New Castle/Mohawk H.S.) then made 1-of-2 free throws with 10 seconds left for the final margin of victory.
Four Titans posted double-digit scoring totals in the win, led by Joseph, who shot 10-of-12 from the field with three three-pointers. Senior forward Pat O'Connor (Pittsburgh/Keystone Oaks H.S.) added 19 points with five treys, followed by freshman guard Craig Hannon (New Castle/Union H.S.) with 17 off the bench and senior guard Ed Pagley (New Castle/New Castle H.S.) with 16. Both Hannon aned Pagley connected on four three-pointers each, as the Titans made 19 treys as a team. Fadden hauled in a team-best seven rebounds. Senior guard Chris Hatch (Canfield, OH/South Range H.S.) and senior guard Mark DeMonaco (New Castle/New Castle H.S.) each dished out four assists, while Hatch added a team-best four steals.
CMU outrebounded Westminster 50-35, but committed 23 turnovers to just 14 for the Titans.
Pagley, who averaged 22.0 points in two wins for the Titans over the weekend, was selected as Tournament MVP at the conclusion of the invitational, while O'Connor was tabbed to the all-tournament team.
Westminster returns home to Buzz Ridl Gymnasium on Tuesday (Nov. 30), as the Titans host Penn State-Behrend in a non-conference game in New Wilmington 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.