GREENVILLE, Pa. —The men's basketball team made it two last-second wins in one night for the Thiel basketball teams as
Chace McKinney (Boardman, Ohio/Kennedy Catholic) hit a jumper with two seconds left on the clock to give the Tomcats a 60-58 win over visiting Bethany on Monday night at Beeghly Gymnasium.
Kelly Muffley helped the women's team beat the Bison with a late 3-pointer in the opening game of a basketball doubleheader at Thiel. Not to be outdone, the men's team erased a 17-point deficit and stayed unbeaten in the Presidents' Athletic Conference thanks to the finishing shot by McKinney.
McKinney, a 6-6 forward, wasn't the obvious choice to take the last shot for the Tomcats. He was playing in just his second game after missing the first portion of the season with an injury and does most of his scoring inside. But with the shot clock running down he was left open on the left side and knocked down the shot.
Aundra Jones (Youngstown, Ohio/Kennedy Catholic) prevented any chance of a buzzer-beater by the Bison by intercepting the full-court inbounds pass.
The game couldn't have started much worse for the Tomcats. Bethany opened the game with a 15-2 run and led by as much as 17 in the first half. The Tomcats clawed their way back and were within striking distance at eight points down at the break.
Bethany's leading scorer British Alexander did a large chunk of the damage in the first half with 11 points, but was held in check in the second half and finished with 13 points.
It only took Thiel nine minutes in the second half to finish the comeback and tie the game at 44-44. McKinney gave the Tomcats their first lead of the game (46-44) with a layup with 10:19 on the clock. The game was tied twice more before Thiel once again took the lead with a
Devon Adams (Philadelphia, Pa./George Junior Republic) layup with 5:11 left in the game.
The lead would change hands six more times in the final five minutes with the final change coming on McKinney's game-winner.
Sophomore
Blair Rozenblad (Youngstown, Ohio/Kennedy Catholic) kept his pace as the team leader in both points and rebounds with team-highs in both categories against the Bison. He led all scorers with 20 points and also pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds.
Anthony Harvey (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) scored 11 points in the win.
Lance Randall (Canfield, Ohio/Ursuline) contributed nine rebounds and
Devon Adams (Philadelphia, Pa./George Junior Republic) had nine points.
Thiel improves to 7-4 overall and 3-0 in the conference. The Tomcats, along with Thomas More, are one of just two teams yet to lose in the PAC.
The Tomcats will look to keep their unblemished conference mark intact when they travel to play at Waynesburg on Thursday.