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by Sean Malone, Sports Information Assistant
The Saint Vincent College men's basketball team advanced to the Presidents' Athletic Conference tournament final with a thrilling 85-75 victory over the Washington & Jefferson Presidents.
The Bearcats trailed by five points with 7 minutes left in the second half, but they pulled ahead with 4:15 to play on a
Grant Latus free throw. After that, a strong effort from the foul line eventually pushed the lead to its final margin of 10.
The beginning of the game gave no indication of the tight battle it would become. The Bearcats stormed out to an 11-0 lead, and they didn't miss their first field goal until the 15:46 mark of the first half. However, W&J overcame their slow start and cut the Saint Vincent lead to two when Nate Bellhy made a three-pointer with 5:36 remaining in the opening half.
Chris Klimchock responded quickly, hitting two threes in the next minute and a half. Then
Dillon Stith slammed home a missed shot, and the Bearcat lead was back to 10 with 3:34 left. After Ed Wright grabbed an offensive rebound and made a buzzer-beating layup, Saint Vincent went into the half up 43-34.
At 15:18 of the second half Stith and Nate Bellhy both received technical fouls. It was Bellhy's fourth foul, and he would have to sit for the next ten minutes. Bellhy did not score for the rest of the game.
After the free throws, Saint Vincent was still leading 50-43, and a Latus score off of a missed free throw pushed the lead to eight with 14:14 to play, but W&J then stormed back into the game, going on a 10-0 in the next two and a half minutes to take a 55-53 lead. The Presidents' Doug Johnson hit a three to tie the game, and Mitch Locher gave W&J the two-point edge.
Latus tied the game at 55-55 with 10:48 to play, but on the Presidents' next possession, Johnson hit another three to give his team a 58-55 advantage. W&J later pushed its lead to five with 8 minutes left.
JC Howard hit a three to cut the deficit to just two, but Ben Cecchini responded with a three that brought his team's lead back to five. Stith completed an and-1 play, which was followed by another Howard three, and Saint Vincent trailed by just one, 68-67, with 4:29 to play.
With 4:15 on the clock, Latus completed another and-1 for the Bearcats and they took a lead they would not relinquish.
Isaac Turner scored at the 3:19 mark and Saint Vincent led 72-69, but Zach Bellhy of W&J hit two free throws and the lead was back to one.
Sean Kett hit two free throws, and then made a huge steal with 1:31 to play. Kett hustled back to break up a W&J fast break and swiped a pass that could have otherwise led to a layup. Turner scored again with 1:02 left, and the Bearcats led 76-71.
In the last minute of the game Saint Vincent secured their 85-75 win by going 9-of-10 from the line.
Saint Vincent needed huge efforts from several players in order to advance to the PAC Championship game. Turner led all scorers with 25, including 13 made free throws. Klimchock added 20 points, 17 of which came in the first half. Stith, with 16, and Latus, with 11, also finished in double figures. Howard ended the game with 8, and his two threes were crucial to Saint Vincent's comeback.
Defensively, Latus led the team with 11 rebounds, giving him a double-double on the night. The Bearcats outrebounded W&J 35 to 32. Stith and Latus also had two blocks each.
The Presidents had three players score in double figures. Zach Bellhy led the team with 21 points, on 7-of-19 shooting. Johnson added 13, with 11 coming in the second half, including three three-pointers that propelled W&J into the lead. Cecchini scored 17 while also grabbing 7 rebounds. Nate Bellhy had the most rebounds for the Presidents, with 8.
Saint Vincent will host the PAC Championship game at 7:30PM on Saturday. Their opponent is Thomas More, whom they beat in overtime at the Carey Center last Saturday. This is Saint Vincent's first appearance in the PAC title game.
