LATROBE, Pa. (Jan. 12) - In its first game action of the 2022 calendar year, the Saint Vincent men's basketball team was defeated 88-74 by Westminster College in a Presidents' Athletic Conference matchup in the Robert S. Carey Student Center.

The Bearcats (1-9) fell victim to a lengthy dry spell midway through the first half, with Westminster (7-5) using a barrage of three-pointers to open up a halftime lead too big for the Bearcats to overcome.

In his Saint Vincent debut, freshman Jayven Millien led three Bearcat scorers in double figures, with 24 points. In his return to action after a 7-week injury layoff, Anthony Dillard battled through foul trouble to net 22 points (going 8-for-9 from the field) and grabbing a team-best 7 rebounds. Nelson Etuk came off the bench to score 10 points and dish a team-leading 4 assists.

The teams battled in a fast-paced, back-and-forth opening 10 minutes of play, with the two teams sharing four ties and three lead changes over the span. Dillard and Millien combined for their team's first 12 points, before layups from Etuk and Osyon Jones gave the hosts a 16-15 lead with just over 12 minutes left in the first half. The Titans would counter to twice take 4-point leads, first at 20-16 and then 23-19, but Millien answered with baskets each time, cutting the Titan advantage to 23-21 with 9:58 left in the half. 

The Titans would then embark on a long 19-0 run over the next 7 minutes, with SVC committing 6 turnovers and shooting a combined 0-for-9 from the field over the span, to open up a 42-21 lead with 3:02 until the break. The visitors' advantage would eventually swell to 49-25 at the intermission.

Westminster's lead would eventually grow to 70-41 with just under 13 minutes to play in regulation, but the Bearcats would then surge to life, countering with a 17-2 run to trim the deficit to 72-58 with 7:15 left in regulation. Over the 6-minute surge, Millien scored 6 points, Dillard 5 and Etuk 4, while SVC's defense forced 5 Westminster turnovers.

The Titans, however, would then put the game out of reach after countering with a quick 11-3 run over the next 3:05 to open up an 83-61 lead at the 4-minute mark. The Bearcats would outscore the Titans 10-3 over the final 3 minutes of play, but the deficit was too much to overcome.

Westminster's Reese Leone led all scorers with 26 points, on the strength of a 6-for-8 showing from behind the arc. Josh Hutcherson added 18 points for the Titans, while teammate Andrew Clark tallied a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double. 

Westminster narrowly out-shot the Bearcats from the field, connecting on 33 of 68 attempts (48.5 percent) to SVC's 31-for-64 (48.4 percent) mark, but the difference came from distance, as the Titans connected on 10 of 26 three-point attempts compared to SVC's 6-for-19 mark. Westminster also held a slim 40-36 margin in rebounding.

Saint Vincent will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 15, with a 3 p.m. home bout against PAC foe Thiel College at the Robert S. Carey Student Center. Spectators will not be permitted, but live video and audio streams, as well as live stats, can be found at http://athletics.stvincent.edu/coverage.




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