Senior forward Pat O'Connor (Pittsburgh/Keystone Oaks H.S.) led six double-digit scorers with 23 points to lead the Westminster College men's basketball team to a 113-109 non-conference win at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland tonight. The Titan cagers improved to 10-3 with the victory and are now 9-0 when surpassing the 100-point plateau, while the Spartans fell to 2-7.
Westminster took control 10 minutes into the contest, going on a 17-6 run to turn an 18-18 tie with 11:22 to play in the half into a 35-24 Titan lead with 7:24 left. The Titans maintained the lead the rest of the half and went to the locker room ahead by 13 (59-46) at the half. Westminster maintained a double-digit lead for much of the second half, leading by as many as 16 points (76-60 with 15:01 to play) before CWRU made a late surge. The Spartans posted an 8-0 run in less than two minutes to cut an 11-point Titan lead (104-93 with 3:38 left) to just three points (104-101 with 1:41 to play). However, the rally by Case fell just short, as the Blue & White connected on 7-of-8 foul shots in the final 42 seconds to clinch the win.
In addition to O'Connor, other Titans to reach double figures in scoring included senior guard Ed Pagley (New Castle/New Castle H.S.) with 17 points, junior forward Dom Joseph (New Castle/New Castle H.S.) with 15 off the bench (to go along with a team-high nine rebounds), junior guard Mark DeMonaco (New Castle/New Castle H.S.) with 13, and both senior guard Chris Hatch (Canfield, OH/South Range H.S.) and freshman guard Craig Hannon (New Castle/Union H.S.) with 11 each. Pagley added a team-high five steals, while tying DeMonaco for team assist honors with four apiece. Funso Lafe of Case Western Reserve led all scorers with 36 points.
The Spartans shot 63 percent from the field (50-of-79) to just 40 percent for Westminster (38-to-95) while also outrebounding the Titans 55-35. However, Westminster forced 26 CWRU turnovers while committing just 12. The Titans also shot 19-of-64 three-pointers (30 percent) compared to an 0-for-4 performance from beyond the arc for Case Western Reserve. At the foul line, Westminster hit at a 90 percent clip (18-of-20) compared to just 50 percent (9-of-18) for the Spartans.
Westminster returns to the hardwood this Saturday, Jan. 8, as the Titans return home to Buzz Ridl Gymnasium in New Wilmington for a non-conference game against Juniata College 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.