WASHINGTON, Pa. -- A strong finish to the first half allowed the Washington & Jefferson men's basketball team to break open a close game and roll to a comfortable 87-67 victory over visiting Saint Vincent in a Presidents' Athletic Conference game Saturday at Salvitti Family Gymnasium. 

The win helps W&J complete the regular season sweep of Saint Vincent. The Presidents rolled to a 103-63 win over the Bearcats back on Dec. 4. 

The victory improves W&J to 9-2 in conference play and 14-4 overall. The loss drops Saint Vincent to 2-15 overall and 1-10 in the league. 

Four of the five starters scored in double figures for the Red & Black. Nick Gearhart (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon) led the way with 16 points. J.R. Mazza (Bridgeport, W.VA./University) finished with 14 markers. Kyran Mitchell (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) finished just short of a double-double, as the junior tallied 13 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Isaiah Langston (Coraopolis, Pa./Cornell) rounded up the quartet in double figures with 10 points.

W&J struggled offensively at times during the first half as the lead changed hands four times. A free throw by Jayven Millien gave Saint Vincent its largest lead of the game, at 22-16 at the 10:56 mark. Dirk Daniels (Phillipsburg, N.J./Blair Academy) sparked six consecutive points as the Presidents evened the score at 22-22 with 8:59 to play in the half. W&J took the lead for good when Langston converted a fastbreak layup at the 7:47 mark.  

 The Bearcats extended their lead up to as many as six points in the opening minutes of play, but Mazza answered by firing another three to give W&J the one point advantage at 25-24 with 8:23 to play. Holding a 32-28 edge with just 4:47 to play in the first half, W&J closed the half with a 13-3 spurt to extend its lead into double digits. Mazza connected on a three-point field goal with 3:04 to play in the half to highlight the run. 

W&J expanded their lead to as many as 17 points when Daniels made a driving layup. Daniels finished the evening with eight points, six rebounds, and five assists off the bench for W&J. A good three pointer by Saint Vincent's Jayven Millien sent the two teams into halftime with W&J leading 45-31. 

Mitchell connected on back-to-back field goals to extend the W&J lead to 17 points less than three minutes into the second half. The Presidents saw 11 different players score in the second half to help earn its ninth conference victory. A jumper by Gearhart opened the Presidents biggest lead at 79-52 with 5:47 remaining. Logo Zervos (Morgantown, W.VA./Trinity Christian) and Jacob Davenport (Camberley, England/Charnwood College) found the scoring column in the final four minutes of action to help the Presidents finish off the victory.  

Saint Vincent was led by Jayven Millien, who finished with a game-high 20 points and 11 rebounds in a double-double effort. 

W&J held advantages in points in the paint (54-34), points off turnovers (29-17) and forced 25 Saint Vincent turnovers. 

W&J hosts Franciscan University of Steubenville on Wednesday, Feb. 2. Tip-off is slated for a 8 p.m.