WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Nick Gearhart (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon) scored a game-high 23 points, including 16 in the second half to help the Washington & Jefferson College men's basketball team secure a 68-63 win over Waynesburg University Wednesday evening in Salvitti Family Gymnasium.
The win is the fifth straight for W&J, who improves to 17-4 overall and 12-2 in conference play. The 12 PAC wins establishes a new single-season high for the Red & Black. Waynesburg drops to 12-9 overall and 8-6 in league play. The victory gave W&J a sweep of the regular season series. W&J won at Waynesburg by a 61-52 final score on Jan. 12.
The hotly-contested Presidents' Athletic Conference battle featured five ties and six lead changes during the back-and-forth affair.
J.R. Mazza (Bridgeport, W.VA./University) joined Gearhart in double figures scoring. Mazza finished with 13 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
Gearhart opened the scoring by draining a three-pointer on W&J's opening possession. Waynesburg countered with eight consecutive points to build an 8-3 lead on a layup by Nijon Kirkman at the 15:10 mark. The Presidents regained the lead on a layup by Michael Bigley (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton LaSalle) that made it 13-12 Presidents. W&J continued to build upon its lead.
Kaden DiVito (Coraopolis, Pa./Cornell) found the net from behind the arc with 10:36 remaining to start the 10-2 run for the Presidents in a three minute span to obtain a seven point lead. Okikiola Agbale (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) scored all six of his points off the bench in the first half. Waynesburg used a Jansen Knotts layup with 29 seconds left to trim the deficit to 31-29 after a competitive first half.
Both teams shot the ball well during a methodical first half, as W&J converted 52.4 percent (11-of-21), which included 5-of-10 from three-point range. Waynesburg connected on 13-of-21 field goals but were just 3-of-14 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes.
Once again, Gearhart kicked off the second half with a good jumper to start the 7-0 run in the opening minutes of the second half.
The Red & Black expanded the lead to as many as 10 points (39-29) in the early stages of the second half.
However, Waynesburg countered with an 15-4 run, which included a three-point field goal by Bryson Wilt that gave the Yellow Jackets a 44-43 lead with 13:19 to play. The Waynesburg lead grew to as many as five points (51-46) in the second half before W&J made its move. Five straight points by Gearhart, which included a clutch three-pointer, gave W&J a 58-55 lead with 3:32 to play. Waynesburg evened the score at 58-58 but W&J countered with eight straight points over the 2:01 of game time. Gearhart accounted for five of the eight points during the game-deciding spurt.
Despite being held to a season-low six points, Kyran Mitchell (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) contributed seven steals, five assists and three blocks in the victory.
W&J was efficient throughout the evening from the field, as the Red and Black converted 51.2 percent (22-43) in the game. The Presidents made 9-of-22 three-point attempts (40.9 percent). W&J held a narrow 31-30 edge in rebounding. Waynesburg turned it over 18 times while W&J committed 20 turnovers.
Knotts and Kirkman led Waynesburg with 15 points apiece.
W&J travels to Beaver Falls to face Geneva in another critical PAC contest on Saturday, Feb. 12. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m.