WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson men's basketball team fell in its Presidents' Athletic Conference opener to Saint Vincent by a score of 77-62 on Wednesday night, Nov. 29.
 
The Presidents came out firing on offense to begin the game, scoring six of the first eight points to gain an early advantage. After both teams exchanged six points to put the score at 12-8 in favor of W&J, Sean Stinelli (Harrison City, Pa./Penn-Trafford) scored the next five points, nailing a three-pointer followed by a layup, to put the Presidents ahead, 17-8.
 
After the Bearcats hit a three of their own, W&J scored nine unanswered points on a Brian Lindquist (Narvon, Pa./Pequea Valley) old-fashioned three-point play before two more long balls from Stinelli to take a 26-11 lead, its largest lead of the night.
 
Saint Vincent answered with a 13-2 run over 5:30 of action to pull to within four points. Brian Graytok (Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic) connected on three free throws over the next two W&J possessions to increase the lead to seven, but Saint Vincent was able to close the half on a 7-0 run to tie the game just before the halftime buzzer.
 
Both teams exchanged scores throughout the first 11:46 of the second half as the score was tied, 48-48, at that point. Saint Vincent closed the game on a 29-14 run to finish the game and yield the final margin.
 
Stinelli finished with a season-high 24 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field and 5-for-9 from beyond the arc. He connected on his first six shots of the game, four of those shots being three-pointers, and added a block on defense.
 
Lindquist and Nicholas Campalong (Sewickley, Pa./Ambridge) both scored 10 points and combined to go 9-for-17 (.529) from the floor as Lindquist pulled down three rebounds with one block while Campalong logged four boards, three assists and a steal.
 
The Presidents will be back in action on Saturday, Dec. 2, for a road PAC contest at Westminster beginning at 3:30 p.m.