WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Matt Seidl (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) finished with a team-high 23 points to help the Washington & Jefferson men's basketball team earn an 88-75 victory over visiting Waynesburg University in a Presidents' Athletic Conference game Wednesday evening at the Salvitti Family Gymnasium. 

The win is the third-straight for the Presidents, who improve to 4-9 in PAC play and 5-13 overall. The loss drops the Yellow Jackets to 6-7 in the conference and 9-9 overall. 

The Presidents and Yellow Jackets battled through a foul-filled affair that saw the two teams combined to commit 63 fouls and shoot 80 free throws. Eleven players committed four fouls and two players fouled out of the rough and rugged conference contest. 

Waynesburg pushed out to an early 10-3 advantage just 2:15 into the game. However, it was all W&J for the remainder of the half. The Presidents countered back with a 14-4 run to surge into the lead. Nick Gearhart (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon), Brandon Jakiela (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) and Seidl each drained a three-point field goal during the spurt. 

W&J added an 8-0 run later in the first half to extend the lead to 27-18 at the 7:46 mark. Back-to-back layups by Jakiela and Gearhart capped the run for the Presidents. Matthew Carte (Ravenswood, W.Va./Ravenswood) and Gearhart converted back-to-back field goals to extend the lead into double figures at 37-24 with 4:09 remaining in the first half. 

Nine of the final 11 W&J points of the first half came via the free throw line. The Red and Black converted 19-of-22 free throws over the first 20 minutes to build a sizable 48-29 lead at halftime. 

Waynesburg refused to go quietly in the second half. The visitors cut the W&J lead back into single digits when Jordan McLoyd knocked down a three-pointer at the 8:13 mark. W&J countered with six-straight points and moved its lead to 75-63 when Seidl made a jumper at the 5:52 mark. 

W&J led by at least eight points the rest of the way. The Presidents used a 25-9 advantage in points off turnovers. Waynesburg committed 23 turnovers to just 12 for W&J. 

Gearhart continued his strong play, as the senior tallied 17 points, four rebounds and three steals. Josh Chambers (Hanover, Md./Indian Creek) finished with a career-high 12 points. Carte and Jakiela added nine points apiece. Seidl added four steals and two blocks. 

W&J finished 39-of-52 from the free throw line. Seidl and Mazza made 7-of-7 each from the line.

Waynesburg had far less free throw chances, as the visitors made 19-of-28 attempts at the line. Antone Baker had the game-high with 24 points.

W&J heads to Bethany on Saturday, Jan. 27 for another PAC contest. Tip off in West Virginia is scheduled for 3 p.m.