ALTOONA, Pa. -- A career-high 29-point performance from junior guard Nick Gearhart (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon) enabled the Washington & Jefferson College men's basketball team to open up the 2022-23 season with an 85-84 victory at Penn State Altoona on Tuesday evening. 

Gearhart was the spark plug that the Presidents needed as he scored 29 points on a 10-of-18 performance from the field, which included a 5-for-8 effort from behind the three-point line. J.R. Mazza (Bridgeport, W.Va. / University) reached double figures with 10 points. Mazza made three of four three-point attempts. 

Freshman Matt Seidl (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Hills) made his presence known in his first collegiate appearance. Seidl poured in 19 points on a 7-for-11 effort from the field off of the bench. Seidl also added a team-best three steals. 

Isaiah Langston (Coraopolis, Pa. / Cornell) led the team with 10 rebounds. Kyran Mitchell (Reading, Pa. / Berks Catholic) chipped in a team-best six assists.

The two teams traded scores over the first eight-plus minutes as neither side was able to build a lead of more than three points until Seidl completed a three-point play to put W&J up 18-14 at the 11:11 mark of the first half. Altoona eventually evened the score at 27-27 with 6:43 to play in the first half. The Lions used a late first half run and held W&J without a field goal over the final two-plus minutes to take a 45-39 lead into halftime. 

Altoona carried that momentum into the start of the second half. That run, which was capped by a layup by Dwayne Jones at the 14:35 mark, allowed the home team to swell its lead into double digits at 53-42. W&J quickly answered with eight straight points, which included a three-point field goal by Mitchell, to trim the deficit to 53-50. The Presidents eventually tied the score at 55-55 on a trey by Seidl at the 12:48 mark. The score was even again at 60-60 before W&J used a 9-1 run to take an eight-point lead on another three by Seidl. 

W&J continued to hold the lead down the stretch. Altoona trimmed the W&J advantage to 82-80 with a three-pointer with just 53 seconds left. Neither team was able to score over the final 20-plus seconds of the game as W&J held on for an 85-84 win. 

W&J held advantages in points off turnovers (33-25) and bench points (31-18). Altoona had a 50-40 margin in points in the paint and tallied a 36-18 margin in fast break points. 

The Presidents travel to Carnegie Mellon University for a non-conference game on Saturday, Nov. 12th. Tip off is scheduled for 3 p.m.