Thiel snaps skid with 93-79 victory

Westminster has dropped seven of its past nine games.

By BILL ALBRIGHT

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

GREENVILLE, Pa. — Two teams badly in need of a win met in a Presidents’ Athletic Conference men’s basketball game Wednesday night.

Thiel had dropped five games in a row, while Westminster had lost six of its last eight. After 40 minutes it was the Tomcats who picked up the much-needed win, 93-79.

“All five of our losses were the same so it was really nice to get a win,” Thiel coach Tim Loomis said. “We were losing the games in the final minute or two. In most of the cases, we just gave games away, but that is what young teams do.

“Even tonight, we made a lot of mistakes in the last five minutes that shouldn’t happen. But when you are working with veterans and young kids, those things happen.”

Thiel (6-7, 2-3 PAC) led 44-41 at halftime but stretched the margin to double figures (62-51) eight minutes into the second half.

Westminster (3-12, 1-4) got to within seven but the Tomcats pulled away, leading by as many as 17 points (76-59) with seven minutes left.

“I told them to keep pushing the ball and things would take care of themselves,” Loomis said. “I hate games in 90 points, but I thought we did a much better job in the second half by keeping the pressure on the perimeter.

“We got some big turnovers and were able to convert them into layups.” Loomis said. “If we would have taken better care of the ball in the last three league games that we lost by anywhere from two to five points, we would be in a real good position.”

In building up the big lead, Loomis was quick to put his finger on the key to that success.

“Defensive pressure,” he said. “We converted the pressure into the turnovers and we also didn’t allow them any second shots. I just told the guys that it was their game to give to them [Westminster] like we did the last four or step up, push the ball down the floor and don’t allow them any second shots.”

Westminster coach Larry Ondako said battling against a large deficit took its toll.

“It [the margin] went up went up a lot quicker than it came down,” Ondako said. “It would take us about four or five minutes to cut it down from 10 to three, and then they were able to put it right back up to nine or 10 in less than a minute. With the foul trouble, that last time and the momentum they had, it just seemed to be too much to overcome.”

Thiel’s Joe Herrmann and Westminster’s Ryne Murray tied for game-high scoring honors with 22 points apiece. Westminster’s Craig Hannon finished with 21.