The Bearcats extended their winning streak to 11 games with an 81-77 road win at Thiel College.

Thiel jumped out to a 7-0 lead early, then extended the lead to twelve, 21-9, with 12 minutes left in the first half.

Saint Vincent fought back, and an alley-oop layup by Andy Ostach made it a 5-point game, 24-19.  Thiel later ran the lead back to ten, 35-25, but the visiting Beracats outscored the Tomcats 11-5 over the last six minutes to cut the deficit to 40-36 at the half.

Billy Bains set the tone for the second half in the opening seconds, hitting a 3-pointer that cut the gap to just one, then Mike Medved scored to put SVC up by a point, 41-40.  The teams then traded leads several times over much of the rest of the half.

Thiel's Devon Adams put the Tomcats up by six, 66-60, with seven minutes remaining, but SVC fought back and took the lead with less than three minutes remaining, after Ian McCollough fed Medved in the paint for a 75-74 lead.

Joey Butler then hit a three-pointer from the top of the key to put SVC ahead 78-74, but Thiel responded with a bucket at the 1:05 mark to make it a two-point game.  

SVC failed to score on their next possession, but Bains grabbed a key rebound to keep the ball in the Bearcats' hands.  Thiel refused to foul Butler, waiting until BJ McGill received a pass before fouling.  By that time, the clock had wound to 10 seconds.

McGill hit one of two, and Thiel senior Joe Herrmann was fouled while going for the rebound on the second shot.  He hit his first shot to make it 79-77 SVC.  On his second shot, much to the surprise of everyone, Herrmann did not attempt to score, opting to fire a hard throw at the backboard in hopes of getting a rebound.  The officials ruled that the ball did not touch the rim, and awarded the ball to Saint Vincent.  Thiel coach Tim Loomis protested the call and received a technical foul, sending Butler to the line.  Butler remained perfect on the night, hitting his seventh and eighth free throws on the evening to end the game 81-77.

McCollough led the Bearcats with 22 points, while Butler added 21.  McGill put in 12 and Medved scored 11.  Bains had a team high 6 rebounds.  As a team, SVC only turned the ball over 8 times on the night, but caused 20 Thiel miscues.

Thiel shot well throughout the night, with a final percentage of 63 from the floor for the game.  Herrmann topped all scorers with 24 while Adams added 19. 

SVC is now 19-3 on the season, while Thiel falls to 9-12.