NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – The Thiel College men's basketball team won its season opener Friday, defeating Muskingum 81-61 during the first day of competition at Westminster College's  21^st Annual Buzz Ridl Classic. The victory was Thiel's first season-opening win since 2002.
 
The Tomcats used a 14-8 run to turn a 1-point deficit into a 32-27 lead at the end of the first half. A.J. Forbes (Lighthouse Point, Fla./Pompano Beach) started the surge with a jumper and two made free throws on back-to-back trips down the floor. Anthony Harvey (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) also hit on a pair of jumpers during the run while Khari Bess (Waldorf, Md./Maurice J. Mcdonough) knocked down a jumper of his own and added a tip-in.
 
Thiel increased its lead to 10 points for the first time in the game 76 seconds into the second half behind a Harvey jumper and five points from Chace McKinney (Boardman, Ohio/Kennedy Catholic), three of which came from beyond the 3-point line.
 
The Tomcats dominated points in the paint (24-14), points off turnovers (16-6), bench points (31-16) and total rebounds (38-28).
 
McKinney led the Tomcats with 18 points. He also added six rebounds and three assists. Ladell Trotty (Cleveland, Ohio/Lutheran East), Harvey and Bess, who came off the bench, each scored 10 points. Forbes, who scored six points and had two assists, was Thiel's leading rebounder (7).
 
The Tomcats made 50.8 percent of their shots in the game and went 16-of-19 from the charity stripe.
 
Thiel (1-0) will take on Mount Union Saturday during the second day of action at Westminster College's 21^st Annual Buzz Ridl Classic. The game is slated to begin at 2 p.m.