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The Saint Vincent Bearcats led from start to finish against Thiel College, cruising to a 79-61 victory in the first round of the Presidents' Athletic Conference playoffs.  Thanks to an upset by #9 Geneva over #1 Bethany, the Bearcats will host Waynesburg College in the semifinal round on Thursday in the Carey Center.

Dillon Stith set the tone for the game in the opening minutes, scoring the team's first nine points - including two dunks - as SVC opened a 9-2 lead in the first four minutes.    

Khari Bess did his best to keep the Tomcats in the game, cutting the gap to 15-12 near the midway point of the first half, but Ben Klimchock's highlight-reel underhanded layup, part of his six consecutive point run, helped SVC to make it 21-12.  A putback by Sean Kett, who had 10 rebounds in the first 20 minutes, then ran the lead to eleven, at 23-12.

JC Howard hit a three-pointer with 4:55 to go to make the score 30-17, then seniors Stith and Isaac Turner turned on the afterburners as SVC pulled away to a 47-27 lead at the break.

A three by Klimchock, another putback by Kett, and a jumper by Turner kept up the pressure, as Saint Vincent opened the lead to 27, at 60-33, and the Bearcats coasted home for the playoff win.

Stith led all scorers with 24 points and added 9 rebounds.  Turner tallied 17 points to go along with four assists and three steals.  Kett dominated the paint, scoring 14 points and grabbing 15 rebounds on the night.  Klimchock scored 9, while Howard added 8.  Pat Jones and Dan Sinwell added quality defense off the bench for Saint Vincent (20-6).

Thiel (10-13) was led by Bess, who had 14 points.

The Bearcats will advance to host Waynesburg at 7PM in the Carey Center on Thursday, the home game made possible by Geneva's upset over Bethany.  The other semifinal game will pit Thomas More, now the top remaining seed, against the Cinderella Geneva team.  

Tickets for Thursday's game will go on sale Wednesday morning in the Saint Vincent Athletic Office.