Penn State Beaver men upset top seeded Vermont Tech; move on to national semifinals

By Jim Equels
Thursday, March 3, 2011

Uniontown, PA - Vermont Tech left the cold and snow of New England behind when it made the trek of more than 15 hours to southwestern Pennsylvania for the USCAA Basketball Tournament. But on Thursday night, the team's hopes for a national championship were ended by stormy weather.

Make that Weathers.

Chris Weathers (New Brighton High School/New Brighton, PA) scored 10 of his 14 points after intermission, including 8 in a game-changing 21-9 run that erased a 10-point second half deficit as Penn State Beaver upset top-seeded Vermont Tech, 92-87, in the quarterfinal round of the USCAA National Tournament.

Trailing 56-46 with 16:05 left, Weathers sparked the Lions' comeback by scoring 8 of Beaver's next 15 points, six on follow-up baskets after missed shots, and the final being a turn-around 8-foot jumper to give the Lions a 61-59 advantage for their first lead since early in the first half. After the teams traded baskets, Beaver took a lead it didn't relinquish, 67-65, on a basket by David McGarry (Poland Seminary/Poland, OH) with 7:53 left.

Beaver extended its lead to 8, 74-66, on anther put back by Weathers before Vermont Tech rallied to cut its deficit to 2, 83-81, with 1:55 remaining. But the Lions' Billy Stoughton (Slippery Rock High School/Slippery Rock, PA) made the biggest shot of the night, draining a long-distance 3-pointer with 1:38 left to deflate Vermont Tech's momentum. Tyler Care (Lincoln Park/Aliquippa, PA) came off the bench to hit three-of-four free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.

Beaver had five players reach double figures, led by McGarry with 19 points. Stoughton finished with 17, including five 3-pointers, while Rich Gaston (Shenango High School/New Castle, PA) had 16 points, and Nick Miller (Beaver Falls High School/Beaver Falls, PA) added 13. Vermont Tech's Kevin Carr put on a huge performance, leading all scorers with 30 points, including eight 3-point baskets.

The Lions move on to Friday's national semifinal where they'll meet Andrews University at 11:15 a.m.