GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Thiel College men's basketball team opened up 2019 with a home Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) loss to Washington & Jefferson College Thursday night, 71-59.
 
The Tomcats fell behind early as they trailed 20-5 with 10:43 remaining in the first half. Thiel clawed within eight points as freshman forward Ahmad Tejumola (Waldorf, Md./Saint Charles) scored on a jumper just outside the paint to make it 21-13 with 5:56 remaining in the half.
 
W&J would end the half on an 8-2 run to lead 29-15 at the break.
 
Midway through the second half the Presidents captured their largest lead of the game on a three-pointer from Cameron Seemann to put them up 22. Seemann went 3-of-4 from beyond the arc and collected a game-high 22 points.
 
The Tomcats then tried to mount a comeback as Terrance Holloway (Farrell, Pa./Farrell) poured in 15 of his 16 points in the second half. Holloway went 3-for-3 from three-point land in the second half.
 
Despite cutting W&J's lead to just eight with under three minutes to play, Thiel could not overcome their early deficit as they fell by a final score of 71-59.
 
Tejumola ended the night with 13 points and six rebounds while Alonzo Brown (Largo, Fla./Pinellas Park) collected 12 points and corralled five rebounds.
 
Thiel will be back in action Saturday when they face the Chatham Cougars. The PAC game is set to begin at 8 p.m.