Titans top Bison to gain No. 1 seed

Westminster beat Bethany, 102-90, conference's regular season finale.
By JOHN BASSETTI
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- Bethany coach Aaron Huffman said he was most disappointed that Saturday's loss to Westminster may prevent his Bison from meeting the Titans again.
After losing to Westminster for the second time this season, Huffman may want to think twice.
At Buzz Ridl Fieldhouse on Saturday, Westminster rolled over Bethany, 102-90, to earn the No. 1 seed in the Presidents' Athletic Conference tournament and a bye.
Possible grind
Huffman may have been more upset that not getting the bye means a game Tuesday and possibly Thursday and Saturday if the Bison (18-7, 9-3) would win the first two nights.
"We're disappointed to get this far, then get outplayed," Huffman said. "Even though it's not the PAC championship, we wanted it bad."
But Bethany can't have it because Westminster took advantage of better overall shooting, especially at the free throw line where the Titans were 32-of-37 to Bethany's 17-of-26.
Greg Rosatelli and Craig Hannon both had 25 points, while Dom Joseph added 21 for the Titans (18-7, 10-2 PAC).
"We're just playing good basketball," Westminster coach Larry Ondako said. "We have a lot of good players and we're playing well at the end of the year. It was on our home court and we got a good game from a lot of people for 40 minutes."
Brody Jackson and Chris Stephens had 21 and 20 points, respectively, for Bethany, which trailed by 14 points before pulling within seven at halftime, 50-43.
Factors
Bethany's 2-3 zone defense was partially responsible for closing the gap because the Titans failed to produce from 3-point range. It was also a time when 6-foot-8 Steve Bielich was sitting with two fouls.
Then Hannon made three 3-pointers and a layup and Bethany was behind 74-57.
"It was real important to get them to knock down some 3s and get them out of that zone," Ondako said of the contribution that forced the Bison back to man-to-man coverage.
"We knew we had the advantage with Rosatelli once they went back to man," Onderko said of his 5-10 senior guard who can quickly penetrate the middle for points.
Another key was when Bielich returned to the game in the second half.
"Having the biggest kid on the floor and others who did a good job guarding James Wallace was crucial," Ondako. "We really keyed on him. Whatever he got we worked for."
The 6-4 Wallace had 17 points and nine of Bethany's 42 rebounds, one of the few areas in which the Bison lacked punch.
Momentum missing
"Not getting much momentum was very much like the last time we played Westminster," Huffman said of not being able to sustain a comeback. "It does take the wind out of your sails."
Hannon said he didn't get off to a good start in the first half when he made just two free throws and another hoop. Eventually, he knew someone was going to have to step up and hit a three.
"Luckily, someone got hot and that happened to be me and it was fortunate that it happened or the outcome might have been something different," he said.
Hannon said Bethany's strategy to switch to a zone defense was a smart move.
"They made a great move because Greg [Rosatelli] is hard to guard man-to-man. If they go zone, we don't make any shots."
Hannon also said it was important to get the bye.
"More than anything, it's just nice to take a deep breath and not play until Thursday."
bassetti@vindy.com