The Saint Vincent men's basketball team opened an early lead and held on as the team beat the Westminster Titans, 66-54. With the win the Bearcats improve to 8-5 overall and 3-1 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference. On the other side, the Titans fall to 8-6 and 3-2 in the conference.
 
Westminster won the opening tip and scored the first basket of the game. David Stephen tied the game at two with a layup about a minute into the contest. The Titans then regained the lead with its second layup. Once again, SVC evened the score with a jumper from Andrew Reed. 
 
Shemar Bennett gave the Bearcats its first lead of the game with a free throw. After Westminster regained the advantage, Kyle Pope and Stephen made three-point shots in consecutive order for a 11-7 lead. 
 
Stephen then made a layup but after Bennett block, the Bearcats went on a fast-break with Reed capping off the transition with a layup. The score forced Westminster to call a timeout trailing 15-9 with 14:16 left in the first.
 
Saint Vincent kept the momentum going as Stephen made back-to-back layups. Walter Bonds then forced a turnover and completed the coast-to-coast transition with a layup. The Titans called a full timeout after the make with 12:19 to go as SVC led 21-9.
 
Westminster ended the 10-0 run of SVC with a layup from under the rim out of the timeout. Cletus Helton responded with a mid-range jumper of his own to give SVC a 23-11 edge.
 
Saint Vincent turned over the ball in consecutive possessions that allowed the Titans to pull within seven. The Bearcats then went three-plus minutes without a point until Bennett went to the line and went one-for-two from the strip.
 
Stephen stole the ball off the Titans, made the transition layup and was fouled. With the make from the free throw line, SVC led 27-16 with 7:27 left in the half. Westminster answered with its first basket in nearly four minutes.
 
Both teams exchanged two-point plays when the Titan's Austin O'Hara made a three-point shot to cut the Saint Vincent lead to eight (31-23). Drew Normandin recorded his first points of the night with a 15-foot shot to increase the SVC led to 10 with 2:30 remaining in the first.
 
Normandin then fought his way through the paint and banked in the layup. Westminster answered with a basket and a free throw. The Bearcats tried for a last second shot but it did not fall as the Bearcats led 35-26 going into the locker rooms.
 
The start of the second half began with Westminster missing a shot but an offensive foul by Josh Hutcherson gave SVC the ball. Hutcherson and Bennett were then award technical fouls in the trailing moments. The Titans scored the first basket of the half and followed it with two made free throws to trail only by five (35-30). 
 
Reed scored the first Saint Vincent bucket to increase the lead back to seven. Bonds kept the momentum going with a baseline drive to give SVC a 39-30 advantage. Westminster nailed a three but Pope responded with a three of his own at the 15:24 mark.
 
In his first minutes of the game, Collin Neville made a 15-footer as the shot clock expired. After a Westminster miss, Bennett backed his way down to the block and made a jumper off the glass. 
 
Reed then buried a left wing three off the pass from Bonds to give Saint Vincent a 49-33 lead and forced Westminster to call a timeout with 12:12 remaining in regulation. With the make, SVC extended its run to 14-3.
 
The Titans tried to slow the run with a layup but Josh Duda pumped and made a step-back three to increase the Bearcats lead to 52-35. Westminster scored four-straight points but Neville muscled his way through the lane to give the Bearcats a 54-39 lead.
 
Later in the half, Bennett followed his own miss with a rebound and the put back. Saint Vincent kept its lead at 15 (56-41) with 7:49 to go in regulation. After a couple free throws from the Titans, both teams went through a cold spell.
 
At the 3:56 mark, Westminster continued its run with two layups to cut the differential to nine (56-47). A minute later, Bennett was fouled and the second free throw to increase the lead to double digits again. Stephen followed with a three-point shot make with 2:10 remaining. The Titans answered as they completed a three-point play and followed it with a jumper to trail 60-52 with 1:17 left on the clock.
 
Westminster began to foul in hopes to cut the lead. Bonds was fouled on consecutive plays as he made all four free throws. Although Westminster made a layup, Bonds made two more free throws to close out the game as the Bearcats won 66-54.
 
Stephen led the way for SVC with 17 points and seven rebounds. Reed and Bonds ended the night in double digits with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Bennett completed the game with nine points and 17 rebounds. The Bearcats scored 16 points off turnovers and 19 points on the fast-break.
 
Saint Vincent travels west to face Bethany College in West Virginia for a PAC matchup. Start time is 3 p.m.