WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Jan. 30) – Kyle Evans poured in a career-high 24 points as the Saint Vincent men's basketball team beat Waynesburg 77-70 in a Presidents' Athletic Conference matchup at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse.
The win was the eighth in the past nine games for Saint Vincent. Meanwhile, Waynesburg has now dropped eight straight games.
Evans, the reigning PAC Rookie of the Week, got the Bearcats off to a fast start, scoring the first four points of the game. Austin Dedert would tack on a lay in to push the SVC lead to 6-0 at the 18:10 mark.
After a layup by Waynesburg would use a layup to score its first points of the game, Evans got a floater in the lane to go to make it 8-2. A brief Waynesburg run cut the Bearcats' lead to 9-7 at the 15:18 mark.
Saint Vincent would respond with a 10-2 run to push the lead into double figures at 19-9 with 11:40 left in the half. A jumper by Evans in front of baskets by Matt D'Amico, Shemar Bennett, Jason Capco and David Stephen all added two point field goals during the run.
The Bearcats maintained a lead of at least seven points for a good portion of the remainder of the half. A three-pointer by D'Amico gave SVC a 29-19 lead at the 5:11 mark.
A slew of offensive turnovers by Saint Vincent helped Waynesburg get back into the game. The Yellow Jackets used an 8-0 to cut the SVC edge to 29-27 with 2:29 left in the half.
After back-to-back baskets from Tom Kromka and Capco made it 33-27, Waynesburg closed the half with seven straight points to take a 34-33 halftime lead. The Yellow Jackets outscored the Bearcats 15-4 run over the final five-plus minutes.
The teams exchanged leads early in the second half, with Waynesburg building a 42-39 advantage with 14:33 left. That is when the Bearcats turned up the defensive pressure and made their run.
Playing a big part of the run was a trio of freshmen as Griffin, Stephen and Evans helped spark a 13-0 run for the Bearcats. Griffin and Evans used back-to-back layups to take a 43-42 lead at the 13:12 mark.
Saint Vincent continued to pour it on as Capco made a layup and Evans added a three-point play. Stephen and Griffin finished off the run with steals and layups.
The Bearcats were able to hold a commanding lead for most of the remainder of the game. A three-pointer by Evans made it 65-53 with 4:25 to play. Saint Vincent made enough free throws by the stretch to close out the win.
D'Amico added 15 points while Capco finished with 11 points to round out the Bearcats who finished in double figures. Evans also chipped in four assists, four steals and four assists. Jon Knab finished with 22 points and eight rebounds to pace Waynesburg.
SVC improves to 14-6 overall and 11-2 in the PAC, while Waynesburg falls to 7-13 overall and 3-10 in the league.
Saint Vincent travels to Grove City for a league game on Saturday, Feb. 3. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the College Arena in Mercer County.