NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – The Thiel College men's basketball team opened the 2017-18 season Friday with a 71-52 non-conference win over the Penn State Beaver Lions in the first round of the Buzz Ridl Classic, hosted by Westminster College.
The Tomcats never trailed the Lions and dominated points in the paint (46-22), bench points (37-16), rebounds (56-36) and shooting percentage (42.4%-26.6%). Thiel's largest lead was 25 points with 8:53 remaining in the second half.
Sophomore guard
Nyric Gosley (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport) came off the bench to lead the Tomcats with 11 points.
Mert Ozkaynak (Izmir, Turkey/T.C. Williams) scored nine points while
Tyreik Burton (Lewes, Del./Cape Henlopen) and
Terrance Holloway (Farrell, Pa./Farrell) contributed eight points apiece.
Avril Campbell (Dumfries, Va./Potomac) led Thiel with 11 rebounds while also netting seven points. Freshman forward
Tyrese Robinson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills) pulled down nine rebounds and scored six points.
John Foster paced the Lions with 16 points while Eric Gallupe recorded eight rebounds.
The Tomcats (1-0) will face the Muskingum Fighting Muskies Saturday during the final day of the Buzz Ridl Classic. The game is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
