GREENVILLE, Pa. (Feb. 19) -- The Thiel College Men's Basketball squad dropped a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) showdown with playoff-bound Washington and Jefferson College 84-75 Wednesday evening on Maenpa Court at Beeghly Gymnasium.

The Tomcats drop to 8-15 (7-12) and conclude their 2024-25 home schedule while the Presidents rise to 19-6 (15-5).

W&J pushed its lead to 83-66 at the under-4 media timeout before a pair of Rob Thomas (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) free throws kick started a 9-0 run that got Thiel within 8 (83-75) with 1:08 remaining. The Blue and Gold had a pair of chances to trim the deficit further with under 1 minute to play but were unable to convert as the Presidents added a late free throw to spell the 84-75 final. 

Thomas posted career- and game-bests in points (29), rebounds (14) and offensive boards (nine) for his first career double-double. The Penn Hills High School grad was 10-of-18 from the field and 9-of-13 at the charity stripe. He swiped a game-high-tying four steals and blocked one shot. Thomas' 29 point effort was his best scoring night of the season since his 27-point, nine-steal performance in Thiel's 77-68 win over Westminster on Dec. 4. 

The Tomcats opened the second half with a 13-0 run in the first 4:16 to get within 5 at 48-43. Mike Brown (Clinton, Md./Gwynn Park) tallied 5 points in the stretch while Thomas had 4. The Presidents answered with a 10-0 spurt in the next 2:03 to pull ahead 58-43 at the 13:41 mark. The visitors maintained a double-digit lead until a Khamari Accursio-Harris (Jupiter, Fla./Jupiter) jay brought it to single digits with 1:08 left. 

Brown logged a season-high-tying 15 points on 5-of-11, grabbed six boards and dished out a team-best-tying two assists. Accursio-Harris pitched in 11 points on 5-of-9 and grabbed 10 boards for his second career double-double to go with a career-high-tying three steals. Six of his boards came on the offensive glass to tie his career best.

Gabriel Gonzalez (Merida, Venezuela/Southwest Miami) started the game with a bang for the Tomcats as he connected on a 3-ball from the top of the arc on the games opening possession. Gonzalez finished with 5 points, two assists and two steals in his final Thiel home game. Marlon Ellerbee (Temple Hills, Md./Oxon Hill), in his last game on Maenpa Court, totaled 8 points and grabbed six rebounds while Kyiam Exum (Temple Hills, Md./Central), also playing his final home game, swiped two steals and had one helper. 

Thiel won the offensive-glass battle with 18 boards to W&J's 10. The Tomcats held the edge in second-chance points (17-8), bench points (22-18) and points in the paint (42-34). The Blue and Gold outscored the visitors 45-36 in the second half.

Men's Basketball concludes the 2024-25 season Saturday against PAC foe Waynesburg University at 3 p.m. from Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse. The Tomcats bested the Yellow Jackets 77-52 in their first meeting this season on Jan. 18.