TITANS GET CLIPPED IN FINAL MOMENTS AGAINST FRANCISCAN

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio–

The Westminster College men’s basketball program suffered an 88-87 Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) defeat at Franciscan University Saturday afternoon on Henry J. Kuzma Court inside Finnegan Fieldhouse.

Franciscan improved to 9-5 overall and 4-5 in the PAC while Westminster dropped to 3-10 overall and 0-8 in league play. Six of the Titans’ 10 losses this season have been decided by five points or less.

Westminster managed to slowly whittle away an early 10-point second half deficit, with junior guard Mick Hergenrother (Canfield, Ohio, Cardinal Mooney) connecting on a pair of free throws with seven seconds left in regulation to push Westminster ahead 87-86. Josh Zimmerman’s driving layup with 1.4 seconds put the Barons in front for good.

Six players scored in double figures for Westminster. Hergenrother, junior forward Alex Rothwell (New Middletown, Ohio, Springfield Local) and sophomore guard Skevos Kouros (Youngstown, Ohio, Campbell) finished with 15 points apiece. Hergenrother went 5-of-10 from the floor and was 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Rothwell, playing extended minutes for the first time this season, had a career afternoon. He finished 4-of-5 from the field, knocked down 7-of-8 free throw attempts and added six rebounds. Rothwell’s 15 points were a career high. He was called for his fifth foul with just under eight minutes remaining. Kouros made four of his eight field goal attempts, went 7-of-9 from the line and registered nine rebounds. He was whistled for his fifth foul with five minutes left.

Sophomore guards Justin Wypasek (Strongsville, Ohio, Strongsville) and Brady DePietro (Boardman, Ohio, Boardman) each had 14. Wypasek was 6-of-12 from the floor. His layup with under a minute-and-a-half to go gave Westminster an 85-84 lead, its first of the half. DePietro was 5-of-9 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point field goal range. Junior guard Jaxon Hendershott (Salem, Ohio, West Branch) added 10 points, making three of his seven attempted three-pointers.

Sawyer Butler, the number three scorer in the league with a 17.5 points per game average, finished with 24 points. Josh Zimmerman had a 23-point, 11-rebound double-double.

Franciscan shot out to an early 9-3 lead five minutes into the opening half, with Butler scoring seven during the stretch. Down one, 33-32, with 3:06 left, a pair of Wypasek free throws, followed by a Hendershott three-pointer, pushed Westminster in front 37-33 with less than two minutes to go in the half. Franciscan closed out the first outscoring Westminster 7-0 and went into the break up three, 40-37. Josh Zimmerman had six of the Barons’ final seven points of the opening half. The first half featured four ties and seven lead changes.

Wypasek scored 12 first half points, converting on five of his eight field goal tries. Rothwell had nine first half points, making 5-of-6 first half free throw attempts, while adding five rebounds. Butler scored 15 of his 24 points in the first half for Franciscan.

A 6-0 spurt midway through the second extended Franciscan’s lead to seven, 63-56, before Kouros’ three-point play with 9:40 left trimmed the deficit to four, 63-59. His made jumper with under nine to go cut the lead to two, 65-63. Down six, 83-77, Hendershott drilled his third three-pointer of the game to cut the lead to three, 83-80. DePietro’s three-pointer with 2:28 left trimmed the deficit to one, 84-83.

The Titans shot 88.5 percent from the free throw line, making 23-of-26 attempts. The 23 made free throws were the most for the program since hitting 24-of-28 (.857) in a 90-80 win over Saint Vincent College on Jan. 20, 2024. The Titans were outrebounded 39-29 and outscored in the paint 46-34.

Up Next
Westminster hosts Bethany College on Wednesday. Tipoff at Ron Galbreath Court inside Buzz Ridl Gymnasium is scheduled for 8 p.m.