A solid shooting performance from Matt D'Amico and strong team shooting from the foul line led Saint Vincent to a 71-57 victory on the road in West Virginia against the Bethany Bison.
With the win, Saint Vincent is now 4-1 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference, while Bethany falls to 3-2.
Calique Jones opened the scoring for Bethany with a three pointer, and the hosts would retain the lead throughout the first six-plus minutes.
Down 7-2, Saint Vincent scored on a turnaround layup by Austin Dedert. After a basket by Jones, Dedert again scored on a turnaround, this time on a jumper, to make it a 7-4 game just over three minutes into play.
Matt D'Amico added back to back scores later in the first, making it an 11-10 game in favor of the Bison with 14:30 remaining.
The Bearcats tied the score at 13-13 on a three-pointer by Mike Simmons, then took their first lead of the game, 15-13, near the 13-minute mark on a layup by Tom Neugebauer.
Bethany then scored the game's next four points to reclaim the lead, 17-15, then extended the lead thanks in part to 8 points from Aiden Albert, who hit a pair of threes and a layup in a three-minute span. However, another three from Simmons kept it close, and a jumper by D'Amico at the 5:45 mark made it a two-point game, 27-25 in favor of the hosts.
A jumper from the foul line by Nathan Griffin tied the game, but Bethany quickly answered with a score. However, a technical foul was called on the Bethany scorer, and Simmons hit both shots to once again tie the game. The momentum then shifted, with Dedert and Jason Capco scoring to put the Bearcats in front, 33-29.
Bethany's Jerron Athey answered with a three with 45 seconds remaining in the half, but after a Bearcat free throw, SVC got the ball back after missing the second shot. Capco then hit a three from the left wing at the buzzer to give Saint Vincent a 37-32 lead at the half.
The Bearcats extended their lead to eight early in the second half, off a score by Kromka and a pair of free throws by Capco (41-33).
The lead continued to grow, with six points from David Stephen, contributing to a 9-2 run, making it 50-35 with 13 minutes left in the second half.
Later, four straight points from Kyle Evans, including a baseline drive that ended with a reverse layup, gave SVC a 58-39 lead with 9:25 on the clock.
The lead grew as high as 21 after threes from Stephen and D'Amico (66-45), but back to back dunks by the Bison reduced the margin to 17, resulting in a Bearcat timeout at the 4:45 mark. The hosts added four more points in the next two minutes, cutting the gap to 66-53, but a three from Capco ended the Bison run at the 1:40 mark, as SVC went on to the 14-point win.
D'Amico led the way with 15 points, while Stephen added 14, including 13 in the second half. Capco tallied 10. Dedert had a team-high 7 rebounds, while Evans grabbed six boards.
As a team, Saint Vincent made 19 of 23 free throws.
The Bearcats (7-5 overall) will return to action on Saturday, January 6, hosting Grove City College at 6PM in the Carey Center.