WASHINGTON, Pa. – Four players finished as double-digit scorers to help the Washington & Jefferson College men's basketball team to a 75-66 win over visiting Thiel College in a Presidents' Athletic Conference game Saturday at Salvitti Family Gymnasium.

The win is the fourth in the past five games for the Presidents. W&J is now 6-10 in the PAC and 7-14 overall. The loss drops Thiel to 6-11 in the conference and 7-15 overall.

Matthew Carte (Ravenswood, W.Va./Ravenswood) poured in a game-high 17 points. Brandon Jakiela (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) added 15 points and eight rebounds. Nathan Plotner (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South) chipped in 12 points and four blocks while Alex Acosta (Acworth, Ga./North Cobb) tallied 10 points and 11 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season.

The game featured 14 lead changes and seven ties. The Presidents led for more than 31 minutes.

Thiel led 16-13 at the 10:58 mark but the Presidents countered back with five-straight points by Carte to take a slim two-point lead. A few minutes later, the Presidents pushed back in front with consecutive jumpers by Acosta and Nick Colucci (Havertown, Pa./Haverford), taking a 24-19 advantage. The Tomcats clawed back into the lead with a 10-4 run. A layup by Kham Accursio-Harris made it 29-28 with 3:41 remaining in the first half.

W&J put together a run near the end of the half to put some distance between themselves and the visitors. Carte drained a triple and Plotner followed with a dunk to make it 33-29 W&J. Jakiela tacked on back-to-back field goals to swell the lead to eight with less than a minute left in the half. W&J carried a 39-30 lead into the halftime break.

The Presidents carried the momentum into the second half. Back-to-back layups by Acosta pushed the lead into double figures less than two minutes into the second half. The lead extended to 19 points when Colucci made a jumper at the 14:32 mark that made it 55-36.

The Tomcats responded with a 12-2 run to trim the deficit back into single digits with 10:02 to play. The Presidents were able to hold a comfortable lead for the remainder of the game. A jumper by Jakiela pushed the lead to 67-52 with 3:15 left. Thiel was able to cut the deficit to nine points in the final but that's as close as they would get.

W&J shot 42.6 percent (26-of-61) from the field. The Presidents put together a solid effort from the line, as they made 21-of-30 attempts (70 percent).

The Presidents look to stay hot on Wednesday, Feb. 7 when they face first place Geneva College. The game is scheduled for an 8 p.m. start.