NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – The Thiel College men's basketball team won its season opener Friday, defeating the Lynchburg College Hornets 72-69 during the first day of competition at Westminster College's  22^nd Annual Buzz Ridl Classic. The victory marked the second straight season that the Tomcats have opened the season with a win.

The Hornets opened the contest on a 13-4 run, but the Tomcats answered, as a Simeon Revales (Miami, Fla./Monsignor Pace) jumper capped a 12-3 Thiel run that tied the game at 16-16 with 10 remaining in the first half. Thiel outscored Lynchburg 33-13 from that point forward, taking a 46-29 lead into the half.
 
An 18-4 run by the Hornets to open the second half cut the Tomcat lead to three (50-47) with 12:32 left to play. Thiel again answered; as Khari Bess (Waldorf, Md./Maurice J. Mcdonough) and Josh Johnson started the surge with a layup each on back-to-back trips down the floor. Demetris Lafontant (Orlando, Fla./Osceola) also scored in the paint while a free throw by Luke Kochka (Monroeville, Pa. /Gateway) gave Thiel a 57-48 advantage with 8:39 remaining.
 
 Lynchburg continued to chip away at the Tomcats lead though, making it a one-point game (70-69) with 30 seconds remaining in regulation.
 
The Hornets fouled on the inbounds, wrapping up Khari Bess (Waldorf, Md./Maurice J. Mcdonough) to send him to the line. Bess calmly sank both free throws, giving Thiel a three-point lead with 30 seconds to play.
 
Lynchburg's Manny Hernandez had two chances to tie the game in the waning seconds, but neither three-pointer was on target as the Tomcats came away with the win.
 
Four starters scored in double figures for the Tomcats led by Bess, who scored a team-high 16 points, to go along with six rebounds and nine assists. Johnson added 14 points and seven rebounds. Kochka chipped in 12 points, seven rebounds and two steals while Eric Mallinger (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) totaled 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds.