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Men’s Basketball: Titans Finish 2016-17 Season in ECAC Semifinals

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Posted on Tuesday, February 28, 2017

The Westminster College men’s basketball team lost, 82-76, at Penn State Behrend in the 2017 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Men's Basketball Championship Tournament Semifinals presented by Visit Myrtle Beach on Saturday.

Four Titans scored in double-digits, led by juniors Deontay Scott (Youngstown, OH / East) and Jarret Vrabel (Canfield, OH / Canfield) who each scored 17 points. Scott grabbed down a game-high nine rebounds. Sophomore Austin Armwood (Columbus, OH / Westerville North) netted 14 points, while classmate Marco Delorenzo (Canfield, OH / Canfield) scored a career-high 10 points. Senior Jason Pilarski (Pittsburgh, PA / Brentwood), senior Cameron Pozsgai (Windham, OH / Windham), and freshman Preston Stitt (Boardman, OH / South Range) each had five points. Pozsgai and Delorenzo each had six boards, a career-best for Delorenzo. Delorenzo also had a game- and career-high two blocks. Junior Brandon Domenick (New Castle, PA / New Castle) dished-out a team-high four assists and pocketed a team-best two steals.

The Lions outshot the Titans 51.7% (30-58) to 47.5% (28-59). Westminster held a 34-31 advantage in rebounds. 

Tied 7-7 in the beginning of the game, Westminster (17-12) went on a 7-2 run to take a 14-9 lead with 15:17 on the clock. Penn State (21-7) answered with a 7-0 run and led 16-14 with 12:54 on the clock. The Titans countered with an 11-2 run, capped off with a layup by Delorenzo, and went in front 25-18 with 8:15 to go. The Lions, however, outscored the Titans 22-5 for the remainder of the half and led 40-30 at intermission. Westminster opened the second half with an 11-2 run, capped off with a three by Pilarski, to cut the Lions’ lead to 42-41 with 16:57 remaining. The Titans regained the lead, 47-45, after Vrabel made a pair of free throws with 15:05 left. 10 lead changes followed with the tenth occurring when Deloreanzo made a layup putting the Titans’ ahead 69-67 with 4:20 remaining. Penn State, however, made it 11 lead changes as it went on a 9-0 run and led 76-69 with 51 seconds left. The Titans got within four points of the Lions’ lead, 80-76, after Armwood made a three-pointer with 18 seconds left, but that would be the closest Westminster would get.