LATROBE, Pa. (Nov. 19) – The Saint Vincent men's basketball team suffered its first loss of the 2022-23 campaign with a 68-62 setback to Presidents' Athletic Conference rival Westminster College in the Robert S. Carey Student Center.
Jaden Gales led three Saint Vincent (4-1, 1-1 PAC) scorers in double figures with 18 points, while also adding a team-high nine rebounds, but Westminster (4-0, 2-0 PAC) used a hot-shooting second half to come back from an eight-point halftime deficit and remain unbeaten on the young season.
Tayler McNeal added 14 points for Saint Vincent, while Logan Karvoski came off the bench to score 13, going 5-for-7 from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from downtown, while also nabbing a game-high four steals.
The Bearcats got off to a hot start and led for the duration of the first half. After taking an 11-6 lead at the 14:40 mark, SVC scored on six of its next eight possessions, while forcing four Westminster turnovers, to open up a 25-9 lead with 10:40 left in the half. McNeal and Karvoski each scored five points during the 14-3 run, which was capped off by an Osyon Jones jumper off of a Karvoski steal.
The Titans scored on back-to-back trips to cut the SVC lead to 12, but Karvoski and McNeal answered with back-to-back three-pointers to give the Bearcats their largest advantage of the half, 33-15, with just under seven minutes left.
The tide then swung the way of Westminster, which would close the half on an 11-1 run, capped off by a three-pointer from Reese Leone at the buzzer, to close the gap to 34-26 at the intermission.
Diego Martinez scored off of an Andrew Reed steal to open up the second half and push the SVC lead back into double digits, but the Titans used a pair of three-pointers to rattle off an 8-2 run and close to within four, 38-34, with 17:16 left in regulation.
The Bearcats upped the lead to six, 46-40, on a McNeal jumper with 13:18 left, but the Titans stormed right back with eight unanswered points to take their first lead of the game, 48-46, on a Leone three-pointer with 11:05 left to play.
Two free throws by Jaden Bailey tied the game at 50 with 10:17 left, before a Jake DeMotte three-pointer and a conventional three-point play by Gales gave SVC a 57-55 advantage with 6:47 remaining. The teams would then trade baskets over the next two minutes, with Karvoski's three with 4:11 left pushing the Bearcats in front, 60-59. The Titans then used a pair of free throws to regain the lead, 61-60, with 3:00 remaining. SVC came up empty from the foul line twice over the next minute, while the Titans increased the advantage to 64-60 with just under a minute left.
With 27 seconds left, Gales picked off a steal and connected on a layup to make it a two-point game, but the Bearcats would get no closer, with the Titans putting the game away with four free throws over the final 13 seconds.
Over the decisive second half, Westminster shot 54 percent (14-for-26) from the field, compared to a 9-for-27 performance by the Bearcats.
Jones recorded six points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals for Saint Vincent, while Andrew Reed dished two helpers.
Fueled by four three-pointers, Leone led all scorers with 24 points, while teammate Andrew Clark scored 16 and grabbed seven rebounds.
The Bearcats will be back in action on Tuesday, Nov. 22, hosting PAC rival Grove City College at 7 p.m. in the Robert S. Carey Student Center.
