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A 21-point outing by Shemar Bennett, including nine straight points in a key second half run, helped SVC to a 78-70 victory over Washington & Jefferson College in a Presidents' Athletic Conference contest at the Carey Center.

Tom Kromka also had a solid night, with 23 points and 8 rebounds for Saint Vincent, as the team improved to 16-2 overall, 9-0 in the PAC.
 
A pair of layups early by Shemar Bennett helped the Bearcats to a 6-5 lead.  Later, Drew Normandin provided a spark off the bench, scoring five straight points for SVC, helping to push the lead to 16-9.  The run continued with layups by Ryan Dutton and Bennett.
 
A three by David Stephen with just over 7 minutes to play in the first half made the score 26-10, and Bennett soon followed with another score to make it 28-10, an 18-1 run.
 
The Presidents came back with an 8-0 run of their own to make the score 28-18, but Stephen added four quick points, helping SVC build the lead to 33-20 at the half.
 
Three straight three pointers by the visitors – two by Zach Queen – to open the second half made it 33-29 less than 90 seconds into play.   
 
After a timeout by the Bearcats, Andrew Reed hit a three to end the run, making it 36-29.  However, W&J then added four consecutive points in the paint, cutting the margin to just three, 36-33 with 17 minutes remaining. Another score a minute later made it a one-point game, but Mike Simmons answered with a basket to extend the lead back to three, 38-35.  Once again, Queen answered with a three to tie the game, 38-38 with 14:55 to go.  
 
The Presidents took the lead on a pair of layups by Alexander Skowron and Cameron Seemann, 42-38. SVC responded with five straight points, with a Dutton layup putting the Bearcats back in front, 43-42 with 12 minutes on the clock.
 
Yet again, it was a three from Queen, his fourth of the half, that gave W&J a 45-43 lead.  
 
However, Bennett then took control of the game, as the Bearcats came right back with 13 points in a row, the final nine of which came from Bennett.
 
With the score 58-47 following a Kromka layup, the Presidents tallied five points to cut the margin back to six with 7:05 left on the clock.  Stephen then answered with a three to end the run, and Kromka followed with a rebound and a layup at the other end of the court, making the score 63-52. 
 
The lead continued to build for the Bearcats, with a Bennett layup and a pair of free throws by Kromka making the score 69-55 with 4:07 remaining.
 
The Presidents battled back to cut the margin to eight, 75-67, with 1:04 left on a  Queen three, but the visitors were forced to foul. After Reed hit a free throw, Queen hit his 8^ththree of the night, making it 76-70, but once again Reed was sent to the line and hit one shot, running the lead back to seven with 40 seconds left, and it was as close as W&J would be able to get.
 
Bennett went 9-for-10 from the floor and added 6 rebounds on the night.  Stephen finished with 12 points.
 
Queen led all scorers on the night with 26 points, while Seemann added 22 for W&J (8-10 overall, 6-3 PAC).  
 
Up next for Saint Vincent is a home matchup with Grove City College this Wednesday (January 23) at 7:30PM in the Carey Center.