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The Bearcat men's basketball team battled its way to an 84-82 victory in a Presidents' Athletic Conference matchup in the Carey Center.
 
SVC fought back from a 7-point deficit in the closing minutes to earn the team's 11th win of the season, against just two losses.  SVC remains undefeated in the conference, now 4-0.
 
The game was close early, before the Titans (4-10, 2-3 PAC) went on a 5-0 run to take a 10-5 lead early in the first half.  SVC stormed back, going on a 9-2 run, with four points from Ryan Dutton and a three by Kyle Pope that put SVC in front, 14-12 with 11:20 remaining.  David Stephen followed with a three that made it a 17-12 game in favor of the hosts.
 
A pair of threes by Westminster's Dylan O'Hara put the Titans in front 23-19 with 7:21 remaining.
 
The Titans continued to hit their shots and play well on defense, pulling away to an 11-point lead, 36-25, after a steal and score by Lloyd Chatman with 4:24 left in the half. 
 
A three by Mike Simmons near the 2-minute mark cut the gap to eight, 40-32, and a driving layup by Stephen made it a 7-point game, 44-37, with just under a minute remaining. Simmons then hit a three at the buzzer to made it a four point game, 46-42, at the break.
 
The Bearcats scored the first four points of the second half, tying the game at 46-46 on a layup by Tom Kromka.    After the Titans reclaimed the lead on a three by Chatman, a conventional three-point play by Stephen tied the game at 51-51 with 16:35 remaining.   Stephen then drove the lane and scored on an acrobatic layup to put SVC in front, 53-51.
 
Both teams again traded points over the next several minutes, before Westminster scored six straight points to take a 61-57 lead with 11:30 on the clock.  
 
A pair of threes by Chatman helped the visitors build a 73-66 lead at the 7:50 mark, but SVC once again battled back, thanks to strong rebounding by Kromka, and a clutch three by Simmons that made it a one-point game, 73-72.  With 3:25 to go, Cletus Helton scored on a layup to tie the game, 76-76.   Thirty seconds later, Helton found Kromka in the paint, and the forward finished the play with a layup, giving SVC a 78-76 advantage.
 
A defensive stop by the Bearcats led to a dunk by Shemar Bennett to make it a 4-point game, and a Kromka layup extended the lead to 82-76.  
 
A three-point play by Westminster's Blake Payne made it 82-79 with 1:22 left, then Ricky Roth hit a three to once again tie the game, 82-82 with 52 seconds remaining.  
 
Kromka backed his way into the paint and scored with 27.2 seconds left to return to the lead to the Bearcats (84-82).  The Titans drew a foul, but missed the first shot and Kromka grabbed the rebound.  The Bearcats drew a foul with 5 seconds remaining, but missed the shot, giving Westminster the ball with 4.1 ticks left. The Titans attempted a half-court shot at the buzzer, but the shot was unsuccessful, giving SVC the win.
 
Simmons had a career-high 19 points on the evening.  Kromka also scored 19 to go along with 10 rebounds.  Also in double figures for SVC were Stephen (17 points), Bennett (13) and Dutton (11).  Stephen and Helton each recorded 6 assists on the night.

The Bearcats will return to action on Saturday (January 5), hosting Bethany College at 6PM in the Carey Center.