WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Washington & Jefferson College men's basketball team erased a nine-point halftime deficit to run away with an 81-68 home win Saturday afternoon over the visiting Thiel Tomcats at the Salvitti Family Gymnasium.

The win improves the Presidents to 10-3 in Presidents' Athletic Conference play and 13-5 overall. The victory helps W&J maintain at least a share of first place in the conference. Thiel falls to 7-6 in the PAC and 8-8 overall on the season.

The first half of play was littered with lead changes as both teams hit hot and cold streaks opening up this Saturday afternoon bout. The Presidents came out of the gates looking for the three ball but finding little to no success initially as Thiel took the first commanding lead of the game coming at the 8:58 mark as Beni Lavodrama made two free throws at the line to put the Tomcats up 12 with around 9 minutes remaining in the half. W&J was able to inch back to a single-digit deficit before the half but ultimately could not get closer as the Tomcats carried a nine-point advantage (44-35) heading into the half.

W&J freshman big man Alex Acosta (Acworth, Ga./North Cobb) contributed eight points and five rebounds off the bench in the first half. 

Sparked by their captains' play, W&J put together a strong second half to secure the victory. Just four minutes into the second half, the Presidents quickly evened the score with a Michael Bigley (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Seton LaSalle) layup. A scoring barrage put together by Kyran Mitchell (Reading, Pa. / Berks Catholic) and the Presidents turn a double-digit deficit into a 12-point lead. Mitchell dropped nine points and tallied five assists in the second half. 

Nick Gearhart (Huntingdon, Pa. / Huntingdon) led the Presidents with 24 points, three rebounds and two steals. Gearhart drained a career-high six three-pointers.

Mitchell backed his fellow captain's performance with a double-double. Mitchell scored 14 points, dished out a season-high 10 assists, added six steals, and tallied four blocks. Dirk Daniels (Phillipsburg, N.J. / Blair Academy) led the Presidents with eight rebounds and fell just short of a double-double as he added 10 points. 

W&J won despite the Presidents being slightly outmatched in the paint this afternoon. The Presidents were outscored in the paint 38-32 but found a way to counter the Tomcats production down low by capitalizing on scoring off of turnovers (26-15). 

W&J travels to Chatham Cougars on Wednesday, Jan. 25. Start time is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Pittsburgh, Pa. The Presidents won their last meeting this season by a narrow score of 70-69  at Salvitti Gymnasium on Nov. 30.