LATROBE P.A. (Jan. 25)- The Saint Vincent men's basketball team used strong defense and timely scoring to get a strong 77-54 victory over Thiel on Saturday evening.
The Bearcats (14-4, 10-3 PAC) led the whole game thanks to an end to end performance on defense. Thiel (6-11, 5-8 PAC) played pretty strong defense throughout, but Saint Vincent found the scoring when they needed to pull away and stay away for the easy victory.
The scoring was very evenly spread throughout the roster, but we still have some standouts to talk about. Matthew Puodziukaitis led the way for the Bearcats off the bench with 14 points on 5-6 shooting from the field with five rebounds and three blocks. Terek Crosby continued his recent strong play with 11 points on 5-9 shooting with six rebounds.
The game started close with Saint Vincent holding a 13-10 lead with about 11 minutes to play. The Bearcats shot well in this stretch and held Thiel to just three made field goals over this nine minute stretch, but some reckless defensive plays put Thiel on the line allowing them to keep the game close.
Over the next three minutes Saint Vincent stopped fouling and went on 10-4 run to build a lead they would never relinquish. It was the Bearcats turn to benefit from the whistle as they got to the line five times over this stretch, hitting four free throws. They also played aggressive defense, forcing three Thiel turnovers. This run put Saint Vincent ahead 23-14 with about 7:30 left in the half.
From here both teams traded baskets, and stops, for a while until about four minutes left in the half when the Bearctas hit the turbo. They finished the half on 14-4 run which pushed their lead all the way up to 42-24 at the break. The Bearcats went 6-6 from the field over this stretch, using smart decision making and good passes to consistently get inside and convert at the rim.
The first half was overall more competitive than the score would indicate but thanks to some very well timed Saint Vincent runs the Bearcats found themselves up 18 with 20 minutes to play. The three point line was the story of the first half on both ends. On offense, the Bearcats made it a point to consistently attack at the rim, only shooting two threes all half. On defense they made it a point to limit Thiel's three point attempts, only allowing four. This was a half focused inside the arc which benefited the Bearcats.
The second half started with much of the same. Both teams traded buckets, but it seemed like for every one Thiel score there was two Bearcat scores, slowly growing the Saint Vincent lead. After about three minutes the margin remained basically the same with a Saint Vincent lead of 44-28.
From here the Bearcats hit the gas. Over the next 11 minutes Saint Vincent went on a 26-11 run, completely putting the game away and making it look easy. They still couldn't benefit
from the three point line going 0-5, but everything else clicked. They shot 10-19 from the field and 6-7 from the line over this stretch with the scoring coming eight different players. On defense they locked in, forcing Thiel into 5-17 shooting from the field and forcing a couple turnovers. This run pushed the lead to 71-40 with about six minutes to play.
With the benches cleared Thiel was able to go on a run to make the score more respectable, but the game was already well out of reach at that point, with the Bearcats cruising to 77-54 win.
Saint Vincent will look to continue this new win streak next Saturday, February 1 against Geneva in Beaver Falls. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
