GREENVILLE, Pa. (Feb. 19) – The Saint Vincent men's basketball team closed out the 2021-22 regular season with an 80-53 loss at Presidents' Athletic Conference foe Thiel College.
Nelson Etuk scored 16 points to lead the Bearcats, while Dashawn Sims added a season-high 10.
Thiel jumped out to a 9-4 lead five minutes into the first half, but the Bearcats responded in a big way. A jumper from Etuk followed by three-pointers from Kaleb Fields on back-to-back trips gave SVC a 12-11 lead with 12:30 left. Etuk would then follow with five points in a 20-second span to up the Bearcat advantage to 17-11 with 11:17 remaining in the half.
The tide then swung the way of the Tomcats, who responded with a long 18-2 run over the next six minutes to open up a 29-19 lead. Sims halted the Thiel surge, hitting a three-pointer and a fast-break jumper on consecutive possessions to cut the deficit to 29-24, but Thiel would respond by out-scoring SVC 12-6 in the closing minutes of the half to take a 41-30 lead at the break.
Sims scored the first three points of the second half, with a free throw and a mid-range jumper, to cut the gap to 41-33, but Thiel countered with a quick 10-3 run to open up a 51-35 advantage with 14 minutes left in regulation. A three-pointer from Etuk with 11:37 left brought SVC to within 12, 51-39, but the Bearcats would get no closer. Thiel answered the Etuk bucket with a 17-3 run to open up a 68-42 advantage with seven minutes left and would continue to add to the lead down the stretch.
After shooting a solid 49 percent from the field in the first half, the Bearcats made just eight of 27 attempts (29.6 percent) over a final 20 minutes in which they were outscored 42-20. The Bearcats finished the game with a 39 percent mark from the field, compared to an even 50-percent mark by the Tomcats.
Five players scored in double figures for Thiel, led by 15 points by Ben Levodrama. Thiel's Ahmad Tejumola grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, helping his team to a 45-28 advantage on the glass for the game.
The Bearcats will be back in action on Monday, Feb. 21, traveling to Grove City College to take on the Wolverines in the play-in round of the Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship Tournament. The Bearcats enter the PAC tournament as the #9 seed.
