Kromka leads SVC past Thiel in PAC play

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The Bearcats defeated visiting Thiel College by a score of 70-59 in a conference matchup in the Carey Center.  

Tom Kromka led the offense for SVC with 18 points, while Matt D'Amico added 17. 
 
Saint Vincent is now 6-1, tied for first place in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (9-5 overall), while Thiel drops to 2-5 in the PAC, 4-8 overall.
 
Thiel opened a quick 4-0 lead in the opening 90 seconds, prompting a time out from Bearcat coach DP Harris.  SVC regrouped, taking an 8-6 lead on a Jason Capco three-pointer at the 15:30 mark, but the lead bounced back and forth for the next several minutes.
 
After a free throw by Tom Neugebauer tied the game at 16 with 10:49 on the clock, David Stephen hit a jumper a minute later to give SVC a slight lead.  The Tomcats then went on a 7-0 run to take a 23-18 advantage, but the Bearcats fought right back

D'Amico started the rally with a three from the corner at the 6:15 mark.  After Thiel answered with a three, Josh Duda hit a three, followed by a layup in transition by Kromka that tied the game, 26-26. 

With 1:15 remaining in the half, Capco scored on a driving layup to give SVC a 32-31 lead, then Kromka scored on a putback with under a minute.  After Thiel missed a shot late, Mike Simmons scored on a tip-in at the buzzer, putting the Bearcats in front 36-31 at the break.
 
Capco started things off in the second half with a jumper, and D'Amico hit a baseline shot at the 18:13 mark to give the hosts a nine-point lead, 42-33.  A score by Austin Dedert ran the lead to 11 near the 15-minute mark, and another score from D'Amico later made the score 50-39. 
 
Another putback by Simmons at the 4:45 mark gave the Bearcats a 59-46 lead, but a jumper from Tyreik Burton and a free throw by Tyrese Robinson cut the margin to ten, 59-49, with 3:40 remaining.  Kromka then took control of the paint, scoring four straight points for the Bearcats.
 
However, the visitors refused to give up, as a steal and score by Burton made it an 8-point game, 63-55, near the two minute mark.
 
D'Amico then answered with a score, running the lead back to double-digits, and from there the Bearcats went on to the victory.
 
Kromka had a double-double on the night, with 10 rebounds in addition to his team-high in points.  Dedert grabbed 8 boards.