President's Athletic Conference

Saint Vincent men secure fourth-straight PAC title

2/27/2016 9:22:28 PM

LATROBE, Pa. (pacathletics.org) – Top-seeded Saint Vincent College earned its fourth-straight Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament title Saturday at the Robert S. Carey Center in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, holding off fourth-seeded Thomas More College 65-62.

Saturday’s three-point title game margin was the closest in the PAC since fourth-seeded Grove City College dealt third-seeded Washington & Jefferson College a 60-58 loss on February 24, 2007 in Washington, Pennsylvania. Five of the league’s last six championship games have been decided by single digits. The Bearcats' current four-year title run is the longest in the league since W&J posted four-straight PAC championships from 1992-95.

Saint Vincent, now 22-6 on the season, earned the league's automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament with Saturday’s victory. The Division III Championship teams and pairing will be announced live Monday, February 29 on the NCAA Championship website (www.ncaa.com) at 12:30 p.m.

2015-16 PAC Championship Tournament highlights

Saturday, February 27 – Latrobe, Pa. Championship No. 1 Saint Vincent 65, No. 4 Thomas More 62 Box Score

Senior guard Pat Jones (Frostburg, Md./Bishop Walsh posted a team-high 17 points on 8-of-15 shooting, grabbed four rebounds and registered three assists to lead top-seeded Saint Vincent (22-6) to a 65-62 victory over fourth-seeded Thomas More (17-11) in Saturday’s PAC Championship Tournament title game. Thomas More, trailing by just five (31-26) at the half, outscored Saint Vincent 16-12 over the first 9:06 of the second period to take a 44-42 lead with 10:54 to play. The Bearcats watched their second-half lead swell to as many as 10 (63-53) before freshman guard Ryne Callahan (Morehead, Ky./Rowan County) scored with just under two to play, cutting Thomas More’s deficit down to just three, 65-62. The game’s final 1:53 was played without a point scored. Saint Vincent senior guard Jaylon Bell (Ocoee, Fla./West Orange) finished with 14 points and three assists while senior guard JC Howard (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) added 12 points, three rebounds and a pair of assists. Junior forward Austin Ford (Blue Bell, Pa./Sanford School) chipped in with a game-high 10 rebounds and seven points. Callahan finished with a game-high 18-point effort for the Saints, knocking down 4-of-6 attempted three-pointers. Junior guard/forward Simon Clifford (Louisville, Ky./DuPont Manual) and freshman forward Junior Stockwell (Florence, Ky./Boone County) each totaled 12 points.

 

Thursday, February 25 – Latrobe, Pa. Semifinal No. 1 Saint Vincent 70, No. 7 Westminster 65 Box Score

Top-seeded Saint Vincent held off seventh-seeded and upset-minded Westminster 70-65 Thursday in the semifinals of the PAC Championship Tournament. The Bearcats, leading by just two, 39-37, at the half, watched the Titans jump in front by as many as five before outscoring the visitors 13-7 over the final 6:48 to seal the five-point win. Saint Vincent featured four players in double figures, led by senior guard Pat Jones’ (Frostburg, Md./Bishop Walsh) game-high 23-point effort. Jones also added five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Senior guard JC Howard (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) added 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while senior guard Jaylon Bell (Ocoee, Fla./West Orange) and senior forward Bobby Swartwout (Renfrew, Pa./Butler Area) chipped in with 13 and 12, respectively. Westminster senior forward Paul Carswell (Painesville, Ohio/Notre Dame Cathedral Latin) recorded the third double-double of his career with season highs in both points (20) and rebounds (12).

 

Thursday, February 25 – Bethany, W.Va. Semifinal No. 4 Thomas More 68, No. 3 Bethany 62  Box Score

Fourth-seeded Thomas More earned a spot in its fifth PAC title game since 2009 after taking down third-seeded Bethany 68-62 Thursday. The Saints, down 10-4 with just over 15 minutes left in the first, outscored the Bison 24-15 over the ensuing 10:27 to take a 28-25 lead with just over five remaining in the period. Bethany responded with an 11-6 run and carried a 36-34 lead into the half. Down two, 45-43, with 15:16 to play, Thomas More used a critical 17-5 spurt to grab a 60-50 lead with 4:25 remaining before holding on for the six-point win. Junior forward/center Simon Clifford (Louisville, Ky./DuPont Manual) led four Saints in double figures, finishing with 14 points. Joining Clifford in double figures was sophomore forward Austin Young (Campbellsburg, Ky./Henry County) with 13 points, freshman guard Damion King (Winchester, Ky./George Rogers Clark) with 11 and freshman guard Brandon Horne (Louisville, Ky./Male) with 10. King led the Saints on the boards with six rebounds and led the team in assists with four. Sophomore guard Calique Jones (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy) had a career day for Bethany, posting a career-high 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Sophomore guard/forward Andrew Williams (Oil City, Pa./Oil City) was the only other Bison to post double figures, finishing with 16.

 

Tuesday, February 23 – Latrobe, Pa. Quarterfinal No. 1 Saint Vincent 80, No. 9 Chatham 65 Box Score

Four Bearcats scored in double figures as top-seeded Saint Vincent cruised to an 80-65 quarterfinal win over ninth-seeded Chatham Tuesday to advance to the semifinal round of the PAC Championship Tournament. The Bearcats will host seventh-seeded Westminster Thursday at 7 p.m. Senior guard Jaylon Bell (Ocoee, Fla./West Orange) finished with game-high 18 points to go along with four rebounds and four steals to lead the way for Saint Vincent (20-6). Senior guard Pat Jones (Frostburg, Md./Bishop Walsh) chipped in with 17 points and nine rebounds while senior guards JC Howard (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) and Dan Sinwell (Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic) added 12 and 11, respectively. Freshman guard Josh Randall (McKees Rock, Pa./Montour) had a game-high 18 points for Chatham (5-22) with sophomore guard Logan Hunter (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield Area) adding 10. The Bearcats outrebounded the Cougars 47-23 and shot 48.2 percent in the contest.

 

Tuesday, February 23 – Grove City, Pa. Quarterfinal No. 7 Westminster 59, No. 2 Grove City 57 Box Score

Seventh-seeded Westminster upended second-seeded Grove City 59-57 Tuesday for the program’s first road championship tournament playoff victory since winning the PAC title in 2005. Westminster sophomore guard Brandon Domenick (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) drained a pair of free throws with 5.4 seconds left to break a 57-57 tie. Grove City had a chance to tie or win on its final possession, but the Wolverines turned over the ball with 1.1 seconds remaining. Senior forward Paul Carswell (Painesville, Ohio/Notre Dame Cathedral Latin) led Westminster (10-17) with 13 points, while freshman guard Austin Armwood (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville North) and senior guard/forward Charlie Wallander (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) chipped in with 11 apiece. Sophomore forward Deontay Scott (Youngstown, Ohio/East) finished with a team-high 12 rebounds in the win. The Titans will face top-seeded Saint Vincent in the tournament semifinals Thursday night at 7 p.m. Freshman guard Brandon Grider (Canton, Ohio/GlenOak) paced Grove City (18-8) with a career-high 17 points while sophomore forward Andrew Beckman (Shelby, Mich./Shelby) added a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double. Beckman also blocked five shots in the loss. Westminster led by as many as 10, 43-33, in the second half but Grove City managed to play itself back into the game. A Grider layup gave Grove City a 57-51 lead with 2:11 left, capping a 14-0 Wolverine run.

 

Tuesday, February 23 – Bethany, W.Va. Quarterfinal No. 3 Bethany 69, No. 6 Thiel 60 Box Score

Sophomore guard/forward Andrew Williams (Oil City, Pa./Oil City) led four double-digit scorers with a team-high 14 points as third-seeded Bethany held off a late rally by sixth seed Thiel to defeat the Tomcats 69-60 in the 2016 PAC Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament quarterfinals. With the win, the Bison (17-9) advance to the championship tournament semifinals where they will host fourth-seeded Thomas More Thursday at 7 p.m., while Thiel ends its campaign at 12-14.  The Bison never trailed in the contest, as Bethany slowly built its lead before heading into halftime ahead 32-21. Bethany led by as many 15 in the second half, the last at 56-41 with 9:49 to play. The Tomcats rallied late and cut the lead to six points at 60-54 with 2:57 remaining, but would get no closer. In addition to Williams, sophomore center Liam Davis (Orlando, Fla./Orlando Christian Prep) added 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds for the Bison, while junior guard Antonio Rudolph (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) and sophomore guard Calique Jones (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy) added 11 and 10 markers, respectively. For Thiel, senior guard Khari Bess (Waldorf, Md./Maurice J. McDonough) and sophomore guard Leandra Jackson (Boardman, Ohio/Boardman) tied for team scoring honors with 14 points apiece, while sophomore forward Clandell Cetoute (Wellington, Fla./Wellington) posted a near triple-double with 10 points and team-best totals of nine rebounds and seven blocked shots in the loss.

 

Tuesday, February 23 – Crestview Hills, Ky. Quarterfinal No. 4 Thomas More 72, No. 5 Waynesburg 56 Box Score

Freshman guard Damion King (Winchester, Ky./George Rogers Clark) recorded a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double tonight Tuesday to lead fourth-seeded Thomas More to a 72-56 quarterfinal win over fifth-seeded Waynesburg. Thomas More (16-10) advances to play at third-seeded Bethany in Thursday’s semifinal round. Thomas More freshman guard Ryne Callahan (Morehead, Ky./Rowan County) led all scorers with 15 points, while freshman forward Junior Stockwell (Florence, Ky./Boone County (Ky.)) and sophomore forward Austin Young (Campbellsburg, Ky./Henry County) each scored 11. Thomas More, leading by just six at the break (40-34), opened the second half on an 18-7 run to assume a 58-41 advantage with just under 10 minutes to play. Waynesburg (10-16) senior forward D.J. Ritchie (Oakland, Md./Southern Garrett) finished with 10 points and six rebounds while sophomore guard Kendall Paige (McKees Rocks, Pa./Our Lady of the Sacred Heart) chipped in with 10 points.

 

Monday, February 22 – New Wilmington, Pa. Play-In Game No. 7 Westminster 76, No. 10 W&J 63 Box Score

Sophomore forward Jarret Vrabel (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) led four from Westminster in double figures, totaling 12 points, a career-high 19 rebounds and four assists to help the Titans earn a 76-63 play-in game win over visiting W&J Monday. The Titans (9-17), participants in the league’s play-in game for the fifth time since the championship tournament format change in 2012, erased an early seven-point first half deficit and closed out the period on a 13-8 run to lead 41-28 at the break. Outscoring W&J (1-25) 15-7 over the first 6:10 of the second, Westminster watched its lead swell to as many as 21 (56-35) before settling for the 13-point win. Westminster senior guard Charlie Wallander (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) finished with a team-high 14 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore guard Brandon Domenick (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) and senior forward Paul Carswell (Painesville, Ohio/Notre Dame Cathedral Latin) each chipped in with 13. W&J freshman guard Gianni Buarne (Middlesex, N.J./Immaculata) finished with a game- and career-high 23 points and six rebounds, while sophomore guard Brian Graytok (Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic) added 19 points and five rebounds in the loss.

 

Monday, February 22 – Beaver Falls, Pa. Play-In Game No. 9 Chatham 74, No. 8 Geneva 64 Box Score A 17-point, five-rebound effort from first-year guard Alex Schoppen (Gibsonia, Pa./Pittsburgh Central Catholic) headlined Chatham’s first-ever league championship tournament win Monday as the ninth-seeded Cougars downed eight-seeded Geneva 74-64. After spotting the homestanding Golden Tornadoes a 27-25 lead with just under six minutes to play in the first, the Cougars put together a 14-2 run going into the half to lead 39-29 at the break. Chatham (5-21) extended its second half lead to as many as 19 (52-33) before Geneva (5-21) pulled to within one, 57-56, with 4:50 to play. A three-pointer by sophomore forward Jimmy Leichliter (Connellsville, Pa./Connellsville) with just over one minute remaining closed the gap for Geneva to five, 67-62, but Chatham finished seven-of-eight from the charity stripe down the stretch to seal the 10-point victory. Sophomore guard Logan Hunter (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield Area) and freshman Anthony Bomar (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) joined Schoppen in double figures, scoring 15 and 11 points, respectively. Geneva junior guard Chaese Vaudrin (Uniontown, Ohio/Lake) totaled 19 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.