WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson men's basketball team capped off their three-game home stretch with a decisive win over the Bison of Bethany College, 79-56, in a Presidents' Athletic Conference game Wednesday evening at the Salvitti Family Gymnasium. 
 
The win improves W&J to 8-2 in PAC play and 11-4 overall. Bethany drops to 1-15 overall and 1-10 in league contests. 
 
W&J led by double digits at halftime and cruised late in the second half as they took home the commanding victory. 

The teams traded scores for the first nine-plus minutes of the game as the score was deadlocked at 17-17 at the 11:22 mark. W&J was able to gain some separation as they held the Bison scoreless over the next five minutes. The Presidents fired off a quick 8-0 spurt, which was capped by a pair of layups by Nick Gearhart (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon). A few minutes later, Brandon Jakiela (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) knocked down a three-point field goal and then added a layup on W&J's next possession. The five-point run by Jakiela gave W&J a 30-20 lead with 3:52 to play in the first half. 
 
W&J continued its strong play and eventually built a 15-point lead when Michael Bigley (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton-LaSalle) finished a layup at the 1:36 mark of the first half. W&J carried a 37-24 lead into halftime. 
 
The Bison converted its first six field goal attempts of the second half to trim the W&J lead to 44-37 at the 17:15 mark. The Presidents would quickly counter and start to put the game out of reach for good. Matt Seidl (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Hills) connected on a pair of three-point field goals to stretch W&J's lead back into double figures. The Presidents led by as many as 30 points in the second half en route to victory. 
 
Jakiela led the team with 19 points followed by Gearhart (18), Mitchell (17), and Seidl (12) as four Presidents scored in double figures. Kyran Mitchell led the team in steals (5), field goal percentage (70%), and assists (3). Dirk Daniels led the Presidentson the glass with a career-high nine rebounds.
 
W&J held significant advantages in points off turnovers (29-7), bench points (40-13), and second chance points (26-5). The Presidents also posted a season-high 20 steals in the victory. 

The Presidents return to action this Saturday as they travel to Grove City. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.