STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – J.R. Mazza (Bridgeport, W.Va./University) and Kyran Mitchell (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) both scored season highs as the Washington & Jefferson men's basketball team used a strong second half to secure a 99-81 victory Saturday against Franciscan University of Steubenville in a Presidents' Athletic Conference game at Finnegan Fieldhouse.
The win improves W&J to 6-1 in PAC play and 8-2 overall. Franciscan drops to 2-7 overall and 0-6 in league contests.
Mazza finished with 26 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field. Mazza drained 6-of-12 attempts from behind the three-point line.
Mitchell was near perfect shooting from the field in his 20-point effort. The senior guard converted eight-of-10 field goal attempts and added six steals on the defensive end.
The score was tied at 43 at halftime. However, W&J racked up 56 second half points to outscore Franciscan by 18 points over the final 20 minutes.
W&J used its full court pressure to force the Barons into 31 turnovers on the afternoon. The Presidents entered the day ranking fourth in all of Division III in turnovers forced per game (24.3) and third in Division III in steals per game (14.7). W&J racked up 19 steals in the victory.
The Presidents led by as many as 10 points in the first half. A three-pointer by Mazza swelled the W&J lead to 41-31 lead with 2:31 to play in the opening half. Franciscan responded with a 12-2 run from that point to even the score at halftime.
Franciscan held a 66-62 lead near the midway point of the second half but W&J's pressure proved too much down the stretch of the game. A triple by Mazza gave W&J a 69-66 lead at the 9:23 mark. The Presidents led the rest of the way.
A driving layup by Brandon Jakiela (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) stretched the W&J lead into double figures at 76-66 with 7:59 remaining. The lead reached as many as 21 points when Ryan McCort (Saint Clairsville, Ohio/Saint Clairsville) scored on back-to-back W&J's possessions in the final minute.
Also scoring in double figures were Jakiela (16 points) and Isaiah Langston (Coraopolis, Pa./Cornell) with 12 points. Matt Seidl (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
W&J held significant advantages in points off turnovers (43-19) and points in the paint (58-48). The Presidents converted 53.5 percent of its field goal attempts in the game.
W&J breaks for the holiday before returning to action at the Albright College Tournament on Dec. 29-30. The Presidents face the host Lions in Reading, Pa. at 4 p.m. Salisbury University and Hamilton College will also compete at the Albright Tournament.