GREENVILLE, Pa (Jan. 3)- The Saint Vincent men's basketball team traveled to Thiel for their first game of 2023, where the Bearcats fell by a final score of 96-78.
 
Mike Iuzzolino led the way for Saint Vincent, as he was one of three Bearcats to finish in double figures. Iuzzolino, in his second game with SVC, finished with 22 points, while recording three steals. Jaden Gales also finished in double figures for Saint Vincent, scoring 18 points, while Shemar Bennett was the third Bearcat to finish in double figures, scoring 12 points and grabbing six rebounds.
 
The Tomcats led from the opening tip, forcing the Bearcats to play from behind the entirety of the game. Saint Vincent kept it close early as the Tomcats led 12-9 just about five minutes into the game. Thiel then went on an 20-6 run to increase their lead to 30-15 with 8:38 left in the half. Iuzzolino scored five points in a 55-second span to close the gap to 32-20 with just inside seven minutes left, before a Tayler McNeal jumper pulled SVC to within 37-27 with 4:35 to go. The Tomcats, however, would then end the half on a 17-8 run to take a 54-35 halftime lead. Over the opening 20 minutes, Thiel shot a blistering 61 percent from the field (21-for-35), compared to a 41 percent mark (12-for-29) from SVC. Both teams shot well from the charity stripe, with Thiel going 10-for-12 from the foul line and SVC 7-for-11. 

Bennett scored on SVC's first trip of the second half to close the gap to 54-37, but the Tomcats would then slowly pull away, opening up a 75-51 lead at the midpoint of the half. The Bearcats outscored the Tomcats 17-7 over the next five minutes, with eight points from Bennett, to cut the deficit to 82-66 with just over five minutes left to play, but Thiel answered back with seven of the game's next 10 points to open up an 89-69 margin and then cruised down the stretch. 

The Bearcats improved to shoot 50 percent (15-for-30) in the second half and 46 percent (27-for-59) for the game, while the Tomcats closed with a 53 percent mark (35-for-66) for the game. Thiel also outrebounded SVC 43-27, with 19 second-chance points coming off of 15 offensive rebounds, while the Tomcats outscored the Bearcats 56-34 in the paint. 
 
Saint Vincent now has a quick turnaround as they have just one day off, as they play host to PAC foe Bethany at 7 p.m. on Thursday, January 5.