NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. — The Thiel College men's basketball team beat Mount Aloysius College 85-74 on Saturday evening at Westminster's Buzz Ridl Classic inside Buzz Ridl Gymnasium. Trey Austin won his first game as coach.
The triumph lifts the Tomcats to a 1-4 record while dropping the Mounties to 0-3 in the first-ever meeting between the two programs. Thiel used a decisive 17-3 run over the final five minutes of the opening half, fueled by sharp-shooting from deep, to claim a 45-32 halftime advantage.
Adrian Llamo ignited the first-half surge with a 3-pointer, finishing the night with seven points, two rebounds, and two assists. John DiCecco added 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc along with three rebounds, helping the Blue and Gold connect on 7-of-14 attempts from long range during the opening 20 minutes.
Thiel maintained its momentum after the break, using a 6-0 run sparked by a jumper from DeAndre Brown Jr. to push the margin to 52-35 with 17:01 remaining. Though the Mounties clawed back to within two points at 60-58 with 9:20 left, the Tomcats responded with a 5-0 spurt capped by Brown Jr.
Brown Jr. led all scorers with 22 points, doing extensive damage from the charity stripe by going 14-of-18 on free throws. His 14 made free throws tie for the eighth-most in program history and mark the highest single-game total by a Tomcat since Anthony Harvey accomplished the feat in 2012. Brown Jr. also contributed five rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Isaiah Gonzalez provided a strong performance off the bench with 10 points and seven rebounds while shooting a perfect 4-of-4 from the field. Khamari Accursio-Harris added nine points, a game-high nine rebounds, and two steals, while Kadenne Kemp distributed a team-best three assists.
As a team, Thiel shot 49.1% from the field on 29-of-57 shooting and converted 22-of-27 attempts from the free-throw line. The Blue and Gold also controlled the interior and the second unit, holding a 41-29 advantage in bench scoring and a 38-32 edge in points in the paint.
The Tomcats return to action on Tuesday evening for a home non-conference matchup against Penn State Behrend.
