WASHINGTON, Pa. – A late blocked three-pointer followed by Grove City free throws ended the Washington & Jefferson men's basketball team's hopes of a comeback win as the Presidents fell, 71-66, in Presidents' Athletic Conference action on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 9.
The Presidents claimed an early 6-4 lead over the Wolverines just over two and a half minutes into the game before Grove City took off with a 12-0 run to take a 16-6 lead at the 13:02 point in the first half.
W&J was able to regroup, however, and outscored the Wolverines by a 22-16 margin through the rest of the first half to pull to within four points before the half, helped by a
Sean Stinelli (Harrison City, Pa./Penn-Trafford) buzzer-beating three-pointer.
Both squads continued to battle in the second half, with Grove City extending its lead to 10 (49-39) by the halfway mark in the second half. The Wolverines kept their lead at 10 over the next five minutes of game time before the Presidents found some life from a
Brian Graytok (Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic) layup and two Stinelli free throws.
Grove City scored seven of the next 11 points to take a 68-59 lead but, with 1:37 to play,
Nicholas Campalong (Sewickley, Pa./Ambridge) knocked down a pair of free throws before Graytok put in a layup and got fouled. Graytok finished off the three-point play with a free throw and helped the defense in to forcing a Wolverine turnover.
On the ensuing possession, Campalong hit a driving layup to cut the deficit to 68-66. After Grove City went 1-of-2 from the free throw line following the Presidents' layup,
Mike Zappala (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) had his game-tying three-point shot attempt blocked in the corner. The Wolverines gained control of the loose ball and nailed three more free throws to ice the game away.
Stinelli scored a game-high 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field to go along with two rebounds, three assists and a steal. Graytok totaled 13 points and hit five of his nine shots from the floor while adding two rebounds, two assists and two steals. Campalong was the third President to score in double figures as the freshman tallied 12 points on 3-of-5 shooting, including 1-for-2 from beyond the arc and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.
Amos Luptak (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) finished with eight points and five boards in the contest in addition to a game-high six assists.
The Presidents will return to the court on Monday, Dec. 18, for a nonconference road game at Franciscan at 5:00 p.m.
