LATROBE, Pa. -- Despite a 28-point performance by freshman Matt Seidl(Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) and 24 points from junior Nick Gearhart(Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon), the Washington & Jefferson men's basketball team dropped a 101-93 decision to host Saint Vincent College in overtime at the Robert S. Carey Center in Westmoreland County.
For the second time this season, the two teams battled into an overtime session. W&J won the previous match in overtime by a 100-93 score on Dec. 3. Saturday's game featured 20 ties and six lead changes as the Bearcats outlasted the Presidents.
W&J took its first and only lead of the first half (18-16) when Seidl contributed five-straight points, which included a three-point play with 12:18 mark. Saint Vincent built the lead to 13 points, its largest of the game, on two occasions in the first half. A layup by Osyon Jones made it 43-30 with 3:02 remaining in the first half. W&J was able to counter with a run of its own to cut the deficit back into single digits at halftime. Consecutive buckets by junior Beckett Connelly (Beaver, Pa./Beaver) and Seidl trimmed the Bearcats' lead to 45-38 at the break.
The Presidents opened the second half by scoring 10 of the first 13 points and evened the score at 48 on a layup by junior Isaiah Langston (Coraopolis, Pa./Cornell) less than two minutes in. W&J regained the lead on a fastbreak layup by Gearhart at the 15:54 mark. The teams exchanged points over the next four minutes as the score was again tied when senior Dirk Daniels (Phillipsburg, N.J. / Blair Academy) converted a layup with 11:58 to play.
Saint Vincent would tally the next eight points, including a three-pointer that was banked in by Jake Demotte to make it 71-63 at the 10:01 mark. W&J continued to battle and eventually tied the score at 79 with a layup by Langston. The teams exchanged multiple field goals over the final 1:04. A short jumper in the lane by Gearhart with 4.4 seconds left in regulation tied the score at 83-83 and forced overtime after a Saint Vincent shot careened off the rim and fell harmlessly to the floor.
Free throws were the difference in the extra session, as the Bearcats racked up 16 free throws and made 13 of them over the final five minutes. Daniels gave W&J the initial lead in overtime with points on W&J's first possession. However, Saint Vincent would score seven consecutive points to take a five-point lead with 2:52 to play. W&J trimmed the deficit to 90-88 on a three-point play by freshman Brandon Jakiela (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) with 2:36 left. Saint Vincent salted the eight-point win away over the final two-plus minutes.
Saint Vincent held a decided 24-10 advantage in fast break points, which included an 11-0 disparity in overtime. Both teams scored 52 points in the paint in a rough, physical contest that saw a combined 53 fouls. W&J had four players foul out while Saint Vincent's Shemar Bennett was disqualified from the contest after drawing his fifth personal on a technical foul with 15-plus minutes remaining in the game.
Jalen Gales paced Saint Vincent with 35 points and 11 rebounds. Mike Iuzzolino scored 24 points and did major damage from three-point range as the mid-year transfer made 6-of-11 attempts from distance. W&J put four players in double figures. Joining Seidl (28) and Gearhart (24) were Daniels (10) and Jakiela (10).
The loss drops W&J into second place at 11-4 in PAC play. The Presidents are 14-6 overall. Saint Vincent improves to 8-7 in the conference and 12-8 overall.
W&J hosts first place Allegheny College for a PAC game on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at Salvitti Family Gymnasium.