LATROBE, Pa. (Nov. 30)- The Saint Vincent men's basketball team earned a double-digit victory over nationally ranked Hood College on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Bearcats (4-3 1-2 PAC) were ahead for almost 75% of this game, even though Hood (4-2) was able to make things interesting at points, the Saint Vincent offense stayed consistent and carried the Bearcats to the non-conference victory.
 
Saint Vincent's win against Hood is their first top 25 win since the 2015-2016 season when they took down Marietta, who was ranked 11^th in the country at the time. Hood came into this week's national ranking at number 24.
 
That offense was propelled by 6 double digit scorers led by Dev Ostrowski who followed up last games 39-point performance with 26 points on 9-22 shooting form the field and 4-9 shooting from deep along with 9 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Mike Iuzzolino added 18 points on 7-15 shooting and 3-8 shooting from deep. Jevontae Jones also made a massive impact with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and a massive 5 blocks to steady the Bearcats defense inside.
 
The game started slow with both teams struggling to find consistent offense. The hero from last game, Ostrowski, had it going early with a quick six points to give the Bearcats a 10-7 lead after about four minutes of game play.
 
The back-and-forth play continued with both teams getting some timely threes and playing strong defense. For the Bearcats it was guard Terek Crosby who provided the offense coming off the bench to nail two threes in this stretch. Saint Vincent led 22-17 with about 11 minutes to play in the half.
 
Over the next 3 minutes Hood was able to get to the line and force some turnovers to go on a 15-8 run and take the lead 32-30 with 8 minutes to play in the half.
 
The Bearcats responded with a run of their own outscoring Hood 18-4 over the next three minutes thanks to some stifling defense and a perfect 7-7 from the field over that stretch highlighted by Iuzzolino knocking down 2 threes and getting a tough and-1 layup to go inside. With 5 minutes to go in the half the Bearcats led 48-36.
 
It was a back-and-forth affair for the rest of the half with the Bearcats able to hold a 59-45 lead heading into the break.
 
Offense was the story of the first half for Saint Vincent. They shot 61% from the field in that opening frame and were on fire from deep, knocking down 9 of their 16 attempts from deep. Everything was clicking on that end for the Bearcats as they were able to find efficient shots consistently, get to the basket often, and convert on their fast break opportunities. The defense was not too bad either, holding Hood to just 44% shooting from the field. The lead sitting at 14 is certainly nothing to be mad at, but the only reason it was that close is because of the massive free throw disparity. Hood shot 22 free throws in that first half compared to just four for the Bearcats.
 
Hood was not going to lie down and go away however as they started the second half on a 14-0 run to tie the game. They played stingy defense and got out and ran after misses to put the score at 59-59 about four minutes into the second half. Some press defense and aggressive ball pressure was bothering the Bearcats and led to some turnovers and late shot clock positions that Hood was able to capitalize on.
 
Saint Vincent was able to settle into the half as the teams started trading buckets with the score sitting at 70-69 Bearcats with 12 minutes to go.
 
The Bearcats were able to keep the offense going as the defense locked it down to go on an 11-0 run over the next several minutes to push the lead back to double digits, holding an 81-69 lead with about eight minutes to play.
 
Saint Vincent was able to hold this edge over the next three minutes as the teams again traded blows with both teams able to find some rhythm on offense. With about four minutes to play the Bearcats led 88-78.
 
It was a defensive battle to the end with the Bearcats able to hit their free throws and lengthen possessions to pull out the win 99-88.
 
The Bearcats were able to hold off that opening run from Hood to start the half, to win this one by double digits.
 
The offense came to play today, shooting 52% from the field and knocking down 44% of their tries from deep. For most of the game Saint Vincent was able to control the pace and play the game how they wanted it play. They led for most of the game and when Hood did manage to go on some runs the Bearcats were always able to punch back in what was an impressive showcase of wire to wire on offense.
 
The defense played their part as well holding Hood to 48% shooting from the field and just 26% from deep. Despite some fouling issues in the first half the Bearcats were able to at worst hold pace with Hood and at best shut the water off on the Hood offense to allow the Bearcats to get some runs going.
 
The Bearcats will look to keep the win streak going on Monday, December 2nd as they take on Westminster on the road. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Buzz Ridl Gymnasium in New Wilmington, Pa.