GREENVILLE, Pa. (Dec. 4) -- The Thiel College men's basketball team, behind a career night from freshman forward Rob Thomas (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills), posted a 77-68 victory over Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) rival Westminster College Wednesday night on Maenpa Court at Beeghly Gymnasium. 

The Tomcats rise to 4-4 on the year and 3-2 in PAC competition. The Titans fall to 2-6 and 0-4 in league play.

Thomas connected on a driving layup with 4:15 remaining in the game to cap off a 13-5 Thiel run over 4:23 that grew the Tomcats' lead to 68-57, their largest of the game at the time. The Titans followed with a mini 4-0 run to bring the deficit back to single digits (68-61) with 3:25 left, but an Anthony Henderson II (Miramar, Fla./Somerset Academy) left corner 3-ball pushed the lead back to 10 (71-61) with 2:41 left. Westminster answered with a 3-pointer on the next shot but an and-one from Thomas brought the lead back to 10 (74-64) on the ensuing possession as the Tomcats held on for the victory. 

The Penn Hills product posted a career-best 27 points on 11-of-17 shooting, 1-of-2 from deep and 4-of-5 at the free-throw line to go with a career-high nine steals. Thomas' nine steals are the most in a game by a PAC player this season and the most by a Tomcat since Khari Bess had the same amount in a 78-66 2016 win over Westminster.

"I've always had the mentality that no one can guard me [in the post]," Thomas said following his dominant performance.

Thomas added four rebounds, three of which came on the offensive end, and a game-leading two blocks, the last of which came in the final seconds of regulation to clinch the Thiel victory.

"He played a good game and helped us out down the stretch," Tim Loomis, head coach, said of the freshman. "He started off shooting jump shots and we told him to get back down in the post and he did that for us."

Henderson II finished with a career-high 10 points on 3-of-3 from the field, 1-of-1 from deep and 3-of-4 at the line.

Thiel led 36-34 at the break and pushed the lead to 47-40 after Khamari Accursio-Harris (Jupiter, Fla./Jupiter) corralled an offensive rebound and connected on a jumper at the 16:24 mark. Westminster answered with a 9-2 spurt to tie things at 49 with 13:32 left, but a 6-0 Tomcats run pushed the lead back to 6 (55-49) with 10:54 showing on the clock.

Accursio-Harris pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds, 12 of which came in the first half, and had 9 points on 4-of-9. His 16 boards are the most by a Tomcat since Ahmad Tejumola had 22 against Penn State Shenango in 2021 and are the fourth most by a PAC player this season. 

John Morgan (Indianapolis, Ind./Lebanon) added a career-best 10 boards in just 12 minutes of action off the bench. Marlon Ellerbee (Temple Hills, Md./Oxon Hill) added 11 points, four rebounds and a pair of steals while Mike Brown (Clinton, Md./Gwynn Park) pitched in 6 points, had four boards and tied for the game high with three assists. 

The Tomcats out rebounded the Titans 46-34 and doubled the visitors on the offensive glass by a 16-8 margin. The Blue and Gold added 18 second-chance points to Westminster's 3. Thiel held the edge in points of turnovers (18-9) and fast-break points (21-12) as well.

Men's basketball returns to action Saturday when they take on Franciscan in a road PAC matchup beginning at 6 p.m.