GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Thiel College men's basketball team was defeated in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play Saturday by the Saint Vincent Bearcats at Beeghly Gymnasium, 77-74.
 
The game was tied at halftime (36-36) but the Bearcats built up a 10-point lead (66-56) with 6:07 remaining in the second half. Thiel answered with a 15-4 run over the next four minutes and took the lead (71-70) on Mert Ozkaynak's (Izmir, Turkey/T.C. Williams) 3-pointer with less than two minutes remaining in regulation.
 
The Bearcats surged ahead by three points (75-72) with 11 seconds left to play, but Nyric Gosley (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport) cut the lead down to a point (75-74) on a layup with four seconds remaining. Unfortunately for the Tomcats, Bearcat Jason Capco drained a pair of free-throws with three seconds left on the clock, and Tyrese Robinson's (Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills) last-second jumper was off the mark.
 
Tyreik Burton (Lewes, Del./Cape Henlopen) led Thiel with 18 points. Josh Lumbus (Cleveland, Ohio/John Hay) scored 15 points and pulled down five rebounds while Avril Campbell (Dumfries, Va./Potomac) scored 13 points and led his team with seven rebounds.
 
Capco led Saint Vincent with 17 points and seven rebounds. Tom Kromka scored 16 points while Matt D'Amico scored 14 points. Josh Duda and Austin Dedert scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.
 
Thiel seniors Burton, Campbell, Lumbus, Ozkaynak and student manager Jake Gregor were honored during Senior Day prior to Saturday's game.
 
The Tomcats will host the Grove City Wolverines Wednesday. The PAC game is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m.