STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – The Thiel College men's basketball team defeated the Franciscan Barons, 88-77, in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game Monday evening.
 
The Tomcats took an early lead and never looked back. After just 3:07 into the first half, the Tomcats took a 6-5 lead and led for the remainder of the game. The Barons drew close a few times, and only trailed 70-72 with 5:32 left in the game, but the Tomcats ended the game with a 16-7 run to win 88-77. The Tomcats' 88 points are the most scored by the team so far this season.
 
Senior Ahmad Tejumola (Waldorf, Md./Saint Charles) tallied the second-highest point total in his career with 27 and grabbed 10 boards for his seventh double-double on the season. Tejumola shot an efficient 12-for-15 (80%) from the field. Graduate student John Aarestrup (Miami, Fla./Archbishop Coleman Carroll) also scored with efficiency, tallying 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting and made 7-of-8 free throws. His 18 points also gave him a new season high in scoring.
 
Sophomore Marlon Ellerbee (Temple Hills, Md./Oxon Hill) also tallied 12 points with two assists and four rebounds. This was the third consecutive game that Ellerbee's tallied double-digit points and his ninth total on the season. Rayshod Hooper (Baltimore, Md./St. Frances Academy) and Devin Christian (Mechanicsville, Va./Lee-Davis) scored nine and seven points respectively, and totaled four and six rebounds, respectively.
 
For the Barons, Sean Hickey and Josh Zimmerman scored 23 and 21 points, respectively.
 
The Tomcats will look to keep momentum as they host the Chatham Cougars at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.