GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Thiel College men's basketball team collected a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) home victory over Chatham University on Saturday, 92-83.
The Tomcats came out flat in the first half as the Cougars jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first four minutes. Thiel then went on a 15-8 run over the next five minutes to tie the game at 15-15 with 11:34 remaining in the first half.
Thiel and Chatham continued exchange the lead with under ten minutes in the half, before the Tomcats took a four-point lead heading into the half, 42-38.
At the half,
Tyreik Burton (Lewes, Del./Cape Henlopen) and
Josh Lumbus (Cleveland, Ohio/John Hay) each were in double-digits with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Thiel overcame a strong shooting performance from Chatham in the first as the Cougars shot 62% (15-24) from the field.
Three consecutive buckets from Burton to start the half gave Thiel their largest lead of the game thus far as the Tomcats were up 10, 48-38 with 18:16 in the game.
Alonzo Brown (Largo, Fla./Pinellas Park)'s jumper at the 12:15 put the Tomcats in control up 19 and was their largest lead of the game before Chatham went on a run of their own to cut it to seven with 4:14 remaining.
Thiel's second half free throws proved to be the difference as the Tomcats shot 90% (9-10) from the charity stripe to keep the surging Cougars at bay late in the game.
The Tomcats won by a final of 92-83 and had four scorers in double figures as Burton led all scorers with 26 points.
Nyric Gosley (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport) added 19 points, going a perfect eight for eight on free throws.
Lumbus earned a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Daquan Simmons (Capitol Heights, Md./Central) poured in 11 points on the night.
With the win, Thiel improves to 5-8 overall and 3-5 in the conference.
The Tomcats will be back in action on Wednesday as they travel to Grove City College for a conference matchup, tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. The last time Thiel faced Grove City was a 69-58 Tomcat victory at Beeghly Gymnasium in the Quarterfinals of the 2017 PAC Championship Tournament. The Wolverines come into the matchup with a 10-5 overall record and a 3-5 mark in the conference.
