NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- The Westminster Titans scored the final nine points in overtime to edge Washington & Jefferson College men's basketball team by a 102-98 margin Wednesday evening in a Presidents' Athletic Conference game at Ron Galbreath Court inside Budd Ridl Gymnasium. The victory kept Westminster perfect at home as they improve to 8-0. 

The loss drops W&J to 12-5 overall and 9-3 in conference games. The Titans improve to 11-6 overall and 9-3 in PAC play. The Presidents and Titans are now in a four-way tie for first place in the PAC standings with Allegheny and Chatham. 

The Titans shot 57.5 percent from the field in the game. W&J connected at a rate of 47.4 percent (37-of-78). The teams combined to make 79 field goals and total 200 points. A total of 10 players (five for each team) scored in double figures. 

Kyran Mitchell (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) posted a team-best 21 points and matched his career high with eight steals. Brandon Jakiela(McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) finished with 20 points. J.R. Mazza (Bridgeport, W.Va./University) tallied 17 points and matched Isaiah Langston(Coraopolis, Pa./Cornell) with the team high with six rebounds. 

Matt Seidl (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) and Nick Gearhart (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon) recorded 14 points and 12 points, respectively. 

The game featured 17 ties and 15 lead changes. The Presidents built a double-digit lead in the first half when they forged a 23-10 advantage less than eight minutes into the game. The Titans battled back to trim the deficit to 41-39 at the break. The two teams battled through a nip and tuck second half. 

The host Titans stretched its lead to seven points, its largest of the game, at 70-63 with 10:13 to play. Jakiela put W&J in front 93-91 with a layup at the 1:16 mark. However, Westminster stopped W&J twice down the stretch before tying the score on a layup by Tyler James in the waning seconds of regulation. Mazza had a running three-point field goal loop around the rim and bounce out and they game headed to overtime. 

W&J opened overtime with five consecutive points, as Mazza drained a three-point field goal on the first possession for the Red and Black in OT. Mitchell converted a steal and turned it into a layup at the 2:37 mark to give W&J a five-point lead at 98-93. The Presidents never scored again as the Titans closed the game on a 9-0 run to take the victory. 

Westminster outscored W&J by a 68-56 margin on points in the paint and held a 48-38 advantage in bench points. The Titans held a 42-29 advantage in rebounding. 

Neither team found much success from three-point range. W&J made just 7-of-29 (24.1 percent) while Westminster converted on 5-of-17 attempts (29.4 percent). 

W&J lost despite leading for more than 33 minutes of game time.