The Saint Vincent men's basketball team advanced to the Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship for the fourth straight season with a 70-65 victory over Westminster College in the Carey Center.

The Bearcats headed into the locker room leading 39-37 after an intense first half in front of a packed Carey Center crowd.  SVC shot extremely well from three, with senior Jaylon Bell getting the Bearcats on the board first with a trey on the very first possession. Classmate Pat Jones was able to get to the line after a hard foul and sink two free throws to give SVC a 5-0 lead just one minute into the contest. Jones drained a three of his own and Bell nailed one free throw shortly after making the score 9-0 Saint Vincent with 17:36 left in the half.
 
The Titans put together two successful possessions to come within four, but Bell answered their three with a trey of his own for the Bearcats. Dan Sinwell found Jones for a long two and Jones replicated Bells previous shot, netting his second three to make the score 17-9, SVC. Austin Dedert began to work in the post, ultimately drawing a foul and hitting both from the charity stripe to extend the Bearcat lead to eight.  Following an impressive stop on defense, JC Howard sprinted the length of the court and dished a textbook pass to Bobby Swartwout under the hoop for two.
 
Westminster answered the SVC field goal, but Bell quickly responded, dribbling around the Titan defense for a basket of his own. A Howard jumper gave SVC a 24-14 lead, but the Titans began to put together an offensive attack to orchestrate a come back. Westminster netted 7 straight to make it a two-possession contest but the Bearcats continued to stretch the defense as Howard hit a three of his own. Westminster, once again, went on a short run. A Titan guard found his teammate under the basket for a jaw dropping alley-oop play and a trey on the next go around gave Westminster a 35-33 lead with a little over a minute left. With 45 seconds left in the period, Howard nailed his second three of the night to send the Bearcats into the locker room with a slim 39-37 lead.
 
The Saint Vincent frontcourt found the hoop extremely well in the first half with Jones leading the way with 12. Howard had 9, Bell netted 9 of his own and the Bearcats shot 44% from the field. Paul Carswell scored a game-high 14 first half points for the Titans.
 
The final period started off slow offensively, as poor shooting and excellent defense slowed down both teams. The Titans netted the first field goal of the half and Jones hit two from the charity stripe to regain the Bearcat lead. Jones scored again, nailing a pull up jumper to make the score 43-42 SVC with 18:50 left in the game. Westminster scored four straight and were answered by Swartwout down low for two. Westminster grew a 5-point lead but a Bell drive and a Jones floater brought the game back within one.
 
On the next possession, the Bearcats had a costly turnover, which led to another Titan basket. Swartwout tipped in a missed shot to make the score 52-51 Westminster, but the Titans answered once again to make it 54-51. Westminster found themselves in foul trouble midway through the half and Jones netted both from the line to cut the lead to two.
 
With 6:39 left in the game, Howard sunk his third three of the night and converted a field goal after a Bell steal to give the Bearcats back the lead. The Titans tied it back up on an and-one play with a little over a minute left in the back-and-fourth contest. After Westminster scored, Jones hit a deep trey sending the crowd to their feet and giving the Bearcats a 66-63 lead with 1:31 left in the contest. On the final Titan possession, Geoff FuQuay tipped an inbound pass and Howard grabbed it immediately. Two Westminster defenders swarmed Howard, grabbing the ball and forcing a jump ball, giving the Titans one final chance. Once again, FuQuay made an impressive play, tipping the ball off the inbound. Howard grabbed it and sprinted down the court, getting the ball to Bell.

Bell, who was fouled instantly, drained both from the line sending Saint Vincent into their fourth consecutive conference championship game by a score of 70-65.
 
Saint Vincent featured four players with double figures, led by Jones, who scored 23. Howard added 16, Bell netted 13, and Swartwout drained 12. Carswell scored 20 for Westminster and Brandon Domenick added 13.

The Bearcats will host Thomas More College in the Championship on Saturday night (February 27) at 7:30PM in the Carey Center.  Thomas More advanced to the title game with a 68-62 victory over Bethany College.