MEADVILLE, Pa. – Alex Acosta (Acworth, Ga. / North Cobb) poured in a game-high 34 points and Brandon Jakiela (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) added 20 points off the bench as the Washington & Jefferson College men's basketball team used a strong second half to record a 109-86 win over host Allegheny College Saturday afternoon. 
 
The win improves W&J to 3-13 overall and 2-9 in conference play. Allegheny drops to 5-11 overall and 3-8 in PAC play. Both programs finished with 20 wins a season ago but have suffered through some tough times during the 2023-24 campaign. 

The two teams were firing on all cylinders during the first half. The Presidents and Gators combined to made 43 field goals an score 110 points during a fast paced first half. Allegheny held the largest lead of the first half, five points, on three occasions. After a back and forth 20 minutes, the Presidents trailed the Gators 56-54 heading into the halftime break. 

The game featured five ties and 18 lead changes with the vast majority of those coming during the first half. 
 
Two good three pointers by freshman guard Matthew Carte (Ravenswood, W.Va. / Ravenswood) would tie the game up at 60-60. That was part of a 23-7 run in favor of the Presidents that ballooned the W&J lead to 80-67 with 12:15 to play. Acosta accounted for 11 points during the critical run. 

From there the Red & Black used a strong display of offense and defense to slowly gain and build up their lead earning the eventual 109-86 win. The Presidents were able to force 17 turnovers in the second half to give them the upper hand during a strong final 20 minutes of play. 

Four Presidents reached double figures in the scoring column. Acosta led with 34 points to go along with his nine rebounds and three blocks. Acosta was 16-of-23 on field goal attempts including converting a pair of three-point attempts. 

Brandon Jakiela (McDonald, Pa. / South Fayette) finished with 20 points, which is his highest single game total since the season opener. Jakiela added five assists and five rebounds in the win.

Carte added a season-high 15 points in just 19 minutes of action. Nick Gearhart (Huntingdon, Pa. / Huntingdon) chipped in 11 markers and five assists. 
 
Matt Seidl (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Hills) recorded a game-high seven assists.  The 24 assists were just one shy of W&J's single-game high this season.

Josh Chambers (Hanvoer, Md./Indian Creek) played a key role in the Presidents' defensive efforts with a career-high seven steals. 
 
W&J held commanding advantages in points in the paint (70-36), fast break points (29-16), points off turnovers (36-15), and second chance points (11-4).

Allegheny was paced by a 21-point effort by Ryan Lang. 
 
The Presidents host Chatham University in the Salvitti Family Gymnasium on Saturday, Jan. 20. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. W&J will host Alumni Day in conjunction with the game versus the Cougars.