W&J rallies in second half, falls to Westminster, 70-67

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NEW WILMINGTON, Pa.  -- Cameron Seemann (Loveland, Ohio/Archbishop Moeller) logged his first career double-double with 20 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in Washington & Jefferson men's basketball's 70-67 setback against Westminster on Wednesday. 

The loss drops W&J to 6-6 in conference play and 8-13 overall. The Titans also own an identical record of 8-13 overall and 6-6 in the PAC. 

The Presidents went ahead early in tonight's contest, storming out to an 18-10 lead after 8:34. Jonathan DeVito (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Central Catholic) and Primo Zini (Morgantown, W. Va./Trinity Christian) led the way during W&J's opening surge with six and four points apiece. 

Westminster quickly found its footing, taking a 21-20 advantage of its own with an 11-2 run over the next six-plus minutes. The Titans built on this momentum by taking a 34-27 lead into the halftime break.  

Trailing by as much as nine points in the second half, the Red & Black began their comeback attempt midway through the stanza. Down 47-41, W&J went on a 9-3 surge to tie the score at 50-50. Zini gave the Presidents their first lead of the half with a free throw with 6:34 left. 

The two teams then began to trade buckets until the score was tied at 59-all at the 2:07 mark. A 7-2 Westminster run stretched W&J's deficit to five, 66-61, with 30 seconds remaining. 

Zach Queen (Jeannette, Pa./Hempfield Area) kept the Presidents in the game, sinking two deep three-pointers in the final 30 seconds. Following the second trey, the Red & Black were down just one, 68-67, with the Titans heading to the line. Westminster made one of two from the stripe, but W&J was unable to capitalize, as a Titans block sealed the Presidents' setback. 

Despite taking the loss, the Red & Black outshot their cross-town foes with a 44.9 field goal percentage (22-for-49), compared to Westminster's 36.9 percent shooting mark (24-for-65). The Titans stayed in the game by taking advantage of W&J mistakes, as the Titans owned a 21-10 lead in turnovers. 

Seemann paced all players with his career game, as his 20 points and 14 boards were both game highs. The sophomore breakout has reached 20-plus points in four straight games and eight times overall. He paces the team with 16.3 points and is second with 5.1 rebounds per game. 

Both Queen and Zini reached double figures in the bout with 12 points apiece. Queen played 32 minutes and made four three-pointers. He is three treys shy (66) of setting a new W&J single-season record in that category. Zini posted his 12 points in 21 minutes off the bench, posting half of his scoring from the free thrown line. 

W&J's next bout will be played on Saturday, Feb. 2, against Thiel at 3 p.m. at the Henry Memorial Center.