W&J surpasses the century mark in 103-93 road win at Kenyon

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GAMBIER, Ohio -- Playing in just his second collegiate game, sophomore Michael Bigley (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton LaSalle) poured in a game-high 25 points to lead the Washington & Jefferson College men's basketball team to a 103-93 victory at Kenyon College in non-conference play Wednesday evening.

The 103 points is the most in a single game by W&J since they scored 100 in a Presidents' Athletic Conference win vs. Waynesburg on Jan. 2, 2013. That was also the last time that the Presidents surpassed the century mark for points in a game.

Bigley added a team-high five steals and three assists to go along with his 25 points. Four other Presidents scored in double figures in the contest, as sophomore guard J.R. Mazza (Bridgeport, W.VA./University) finished with 15 points, which included a 9-of-9 performance at the free throw line.

Junior guard Kyran Mitchell (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds while Nick Gearhart (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon) finished with 11 points. The same four players finished in double figures in the team's win Monday at Pitt-Greensburg.

Alexander Skowron (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) was the fifth and final President to score in double figures, as the senior forward finished with 12 points in 20 minutes. Sophomore guard Isaiah Langston (Coraopolis, Pa./Cornell) pulled down a game-high nine rebounds. 

W&J and Kenyon only experienced two lead changes and the final lead change came from a Skowron layup with 5:58 remaining in the first half, making the score 42-40. Beckett Connelly (Beaver, Pa./Beaver) bolstered W&J's lead by scoring five of his eight points in the final five minutes of play in the first half. The Red & Black went into halftime with a seven-point lead at 56-49.

The Red and Black held the lead throughout the second half and grew to as many as 15 points when Mitchell hit a jump shot to build an 84-69 lead advantage with 9:32 to play. 

Kenyon made a significant run to trim its deficit down to as few as two points (94-92) with 2:47 to play. The Presidents finished off the victory by tallying nine of the final 10 points down te stretch to nail down the double-digit win. A pair of free throws by Bigley with just 22 seconds remaining closed the scoring at 103-93. 

The Presidents converted 32-of-60 field goal attempts in the victory. W&J made 79.1 percent from the free throw line, draining 34-of-43 attempts during a foul-filled game. David Mazon scored 15 points to pace Kenyon, which also put five players into double figures in scoring. 

W&J will host their 2021-22 home opener Tuesday, Nov. 16 against head coach Ethan Stewart-Smith's alma mater, Penn-State Altoona. The game is slated to start at 7 p.m.