area colleges Wednesday’s games

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Bethany 85, Westminster 67

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. — Five Bison (3-3, 1-0 Presidents’ Atheltiic Conference) scored in double figures led by Nick Wilcox with 16 points on 8 of 10 shooting, followed by Dustin Opalka (Lakeview) and Damien Green with 12 apiece, Joe Testa with 11 and Nick Thomas with 10. Bethany went on a 20-2 run late in the first half before leading 43-23 at halftime. The Bison led by as many as 31 points in the second half before Westminster whittled the deficit down to 11 points with 6:09, but that was as close as the Titans would get. Junior guard Max Spinner led the Titans (1-4, 0-1) with 16 points, including 3 of 8 shooting from 3-point range. Freshman guard Reuben King also bucketed 15 points on 4 of 6 shooting from the field and freshman forward Adam Carswell tossed in 10 points. Other notables for Westminster included sophomore forward Rob Briggs grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds to go with nine points and sophomore guard Cameron McCleary (Newton Falls) leading the Titans with five assists while scoring two points.

Mount Union 63, Marietta 60

ALLIANCE — Mount Union senior guard Sam King (Brookfield) hit a 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds left to lift the Purple Raiders in an Ohio Athletic Conference game. King’s game-winner gave him a game-high 14 points as he went 5-for-5 from the floor in his first game of the season coming back from a preseason injury. Sophomore Wes Kanavel came off the bench for 13 points and eight rebounds while sophomores Ben Hodkinson, Jimmy Wood and Matt Wier (Mohawk) each had 11, 10 and 10 respectively for Mount Union (3-2, 1-0). Joe Puch had 13 points and Zane Carter (Wellsville) came off the bench with 10 to lead Marietta (3-2, 1-1 OAC).

Hiram 49, Oberlin 47

OBERLIN — Hiram (2-2, 1-0) tallied the final five points, including a pair of free-throws by junior forward Babajide Eniola in the final seconds in the North Coast Athletic Conference opener. Both teams struggled from the field in the first half with Hiram and Oberlin combining for 12 made shots in the opening period. Hiram tallied the game’s first bucket at the 18:10 minute mark on a jumper by sophomore forward Chris Meyer. But Oberlin (2-4, 0-1) answered with nine straight points to record its largest lead of the half at 9-2 with 11:30 remaining before halftime. The Terriers battled back and a three-point play by junior All-NCAC guard Chris Roberts to end the half, pulled Hiram to within a point, 15-14, at the break. Hiram scored the first points of the second half to grab its first lead since the start of the game on a jumper by Eniola to give the Terriers a 16-15 edge. The basket was part of a 9-4 scoring run by the Terriers that ended with a three-pointer by freshman guard Alan Sheppard (Wadsworth) that gave Hiram its largest lead of the game of six points, 25-19, with 13:52 to play. The Yeomen were led by Josh Merritt with a game-high 15 points on six-of-nine shooting (66.7 percent). Marcus Johnson was the only other Oberlin player in double figures with 12 points.

WOMEN

Westminster 53, Bethany 52

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. — With two-tenths of a second left in the game and freshman forward Andi Ridge missed one free throw and made the second to lift Westminster (2-3, 1-0) in both teams’ first Presidents’ Athletic Conference game. Ridge, who posted four points and six rebounds in the game, was sent to the foul line after rebounding a missed layup by senior guard Amy Dolsak (McDonald) with two seconds remaining. Dolsak tied the game on a foul shot with 24 seconds left. Junior guard Kaitlin McCarthy (Lowellville) had 11 points and Dolsak 10. Freshman guard Jenn Cantella finished with a career-high 14 points on 4 of 8 shooting from the field and 4 of 7 from 3-point range. Kayla Taormina and Audra Droginska led the Bison (1-4, 0-1 PAC) with 18 and 12 points, respectively.

Mount Union 87, Marietta 69

MARIETTA — Senior Tessa Pohovey had a game-high 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting for Mount Union (5-0, 1-0). Sophomore Amanda Rose recorded her first double-double of the season with 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting and 10 rebounds. Freshman Rosa LaMattina chipped in with eight points and led the team with seven assists. Junior Taylor Hartung also added 10 points off the bench. Marietta (2-3, 0-1) was led by Aleisha Guiler with 25 points and 13 rebounds, falls to 2-3, 0-1 in the OAC.

Saint Vincent 72, Thiel 63

LATROBE, Pa. — Freshman forward, Kelly Barzak (Howland) contributed 10 points, six boards, and two blocks for Thiel. The Tomcats put on a strong first half performance, led by Ashley Davis’ 12-point, seven rebound effort in the half. But the Tomcats turned the ball over 18 times in the first half and 19 in the second. Thiel was led by Davis’ team-high 16 point and game-high 14 rebound effort. First-year swing, Kelly Muffley added nine points and three rebounds. The Tomcats won the battle on the boards 43-32, while turned the ball over 37 times to the Bearcats’ 14.

Vindicator staff report