February 4, 2009
Shoremen Rally Past Bears, 66-60
Schittino Pours in Career-High 20 Points

CHESTERTOWN, MD – Freshman guard Sal Schittino (Ellicott City, MD/Loyola Blakefield) poured in 13 of his career-high 20 points during a crucial 5:24 stretch of the second half as host Washington College rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to post a 66-60 Centennial Conference men's basketball victory over visiting Ursinus College tonight at Cain Athletic Center. Five teams - including both Washington and Ursinus - entered the night in a tie for fourth place in the Centennial Conference. With the victory, the Shoremen, who have won six of their past seven games, moved to 7-6 in Centennial Conference play and 10-10 overall after starting the season 1-5 and 4-9, respectively.

Ursinus (10-10, 6-7) never trailed in the first half and took a 36-27 lead into the intermission. The Bears' lead grew to 11 points on a pair of free throws by John Noonan with 17:47 remaining in the game. Washington then reeled off a 13-2 run to tie the score at 40-40 on a lay-up by senior guard Tim Kohlrus (Fairfax, VA/W.T. Woodson) with 13:59 to go.

The Shoremen tied the score two more times in the ensuing minutes, but could not yet get over the hump. Schittino started his scoring binge on a jumper with 8:19 remaining that made the score 48-46 in favor of Ursinus. The Bears then scored the next five points to take a 53-46 lead on a three-pointer by Remy Cousart with 7:45 left.

Schittino responded by scoring 11 of the next 13 points, knocking down a jumper followed by three three-pointers, the last one giving the Shoremen their first lead of the game at 57-55 with 3:55 on the clock. A pair of free throws by junior guard Andrew Chambers (Williamsport, MD/St. Maria Goretti) with 2:53 left upped the lead to 59-55.

The Bears cut the lead to 61-60 on a three-pointer by Noonan with 1:18 to go. Noonan rebounded a miss by Kohlrus with 38 seconds left, but was called for traveling after falling to the floor with the ball. Kohlrus made a pair of free throws to give the Shoremen a 63-60 lead with 35 seconds left. Kohlrus then picked off a backcourt pass with 14 seconds left and was fouled on a breakaway lay-up. He knocked down the first of the two free throws with 10 seconds to go to make it a two-possession game at 64-60. Cousart missed a three at the other end for Ursinus and Chambers grabbed the rebound, was fouled, and tacked on a pair of free throws with two seconds to go to provide the final margin.

Schittino's 20 points led all scorers as he shot 7-of-13 from the floor, 4-of-8 from three-point range, and 2-of-2 at the free-throw line. Kohlrus added 13 points, six rebounds, five assists, and five steals. Chambers added 12 points, while freshman guard Kevin Breslin (Hagerstown, MD/St. Maria Goretti) chipped in with 10. Junior forward James Whall (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) added six points, seven rebounds, and three blocks.

Matt Howell paced the Bears with 14 points, while Noonan totaled 13 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists, and Cousart had 12 points and 10 boards.

Washington shot just 34% from the field in the game to Ursinus's 46% and saw the Bears hold a 47-32 advantage on the boards. The difference in the game was turnovers as the Bears coughed the ball up 27 times to Washington's nine, giving the Shoremen a 23-5 advantage in points off turnovers.

The Shoremen, who are now in a two-way tie with Muhlenberg for fourth place in the Centennial, return to action Saturday with a 4:00 p.m. game at xx-ranked Franklin & Marshall.

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