Freshman guard Craig Hannon (New Castle/Union) scored 13 of his team-high 26 points in overtime to lead the Westminster College men's basketball team to a 110-102 overtime win over Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) rival Grove City College at Buzz Ridl Gymnasium today. The Titans improved to 14-7, 4-2 PAC, with the win, while the Wolverines dropped to 11-9, 4-2 PAC.
Westminster led for most of the first half, as the Blue & White opened the game with a 17-6 lead and led as many as 13 points in the period before taking a 45-36 halftime advantage. The Titans maintained the lead until a Wolverine rally in the second half saw Grove City take a 72-71 lead with 6:33 to go. After several lead exchanges, the Titans led 88-85 in the closing seconds when J.D. Collar of GCC buried a long three-pointer from the right wing with four seconds to play in regulation, sending the game to overtime tied 88-88. The two teams continued to go back and forth until the Titans took the lead for good on a Hannon three-pointer with 59 seconds left in OT to take a 103-100 advantage. After a Wolverine miss, the Titans made 5-of-6 free throws in the final 35 seconds to help seal the win.
Hannon shot 8-of-14 from the field, including 6-of-10 from three-point range, and 4-of-4 from the line. Junior forward Dom Joseph (New Castle/New Castle H.S.) added 19 points and a team- and season-best 10 rebounds for his first double double of the campaign. Other Titan double-digit scorers included senior forward Pat O'Connor (Pittsburgh/Keystone Oaks H.S.) with 12 and freshman guard Brian Urso (Pittsburgh/Fox Chapel H.S.) with a career-high 11 points. Joseph also dished out a team-best six assists. For Grove City, Ryan Eller scored a career-high 41 points on 17-of-21 shooting from the field as he surpassed 1,000 points in his GCC career, while Phil Bushre added a near triple-double with 27 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.
Grove City shot 66 percent from the field (42-of-64) to just 44 percent for Westminster (37-of-84), but the Titans made 19-of-59 three-pointers (32 percent) to just 3-of-8 for the Wolverines (38 percent). Both teams collected 38 rebounds, while Westminster forced 20 Grove City turnovers while committing just nine.
Westminster returns to action on Wednesday (Feb. 9), when the Titans travel to Greenville for a PAC matchup at Thiel College beginning at 8 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.