CRESSON, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson College men's basketball team raced out to an early double-digit lead en route to a 79-65 victory over host Mount Aloysius College in a non-conference game in Cambria County Monday afternoon.
The victory was the fourth straight for the Presidents, who improve to 8-2 overall. The 8-2 start is the best for W&J since the program's historic 1993-94 season, in which they claimed a PAC title, won a program-high 15 consecutive games, finished with a program-best 22 wins and advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Elite 8. Mt. Aloysius drops to 2-10 overall in 2021-22.
Four Presidents finished in double figures scoring during a balanced attack. Junior guard Kyran Mitchell (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) filled the stat sheet with 15 points, nine rebounds, five steals and three assists. He was one rebound shy of recording his fifth double-double of the season. Sophomore guard J.R. Mazza (Bridgeport, W.Va./University) tallied a team-high 16 points in the victory. Sophomore guards Nick Gearhart (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon) and Michael Bigley (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton LaSalle) finished with 15 points and 12 points, respectively.
W&J jumped out to an early 14-0 lead and never looked back in the victory despite recording its lowest field goal percentage (37 percent) of the season. W&J's pressure defense forced Mount Aloysius into committing 33 turnovers. The Presidents outscored the Mounties by a 32-14 advantage in points off turnovers. The 14-0 spurt to start the game was highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers by Gearhart and sophomore Isaiah Langston (Coraopolis, Pa./Cornell). After a three-point field goal finally put MTA on the board, W&J rattled off seven consecutive points to take a 21-3 advantage on a layup by Gearhart at the 13:33 mark.
Gearhart pushed the lead to 20 points (27-7) with a three-point field goal with 10:10 remaining in the first half. A layup by freshman Christian McGowan (Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic) gave W&J its largest lead of the first half at 25. The basket by McGowan made the score 40-15 at the 4:15 mark. Mount Aloysius finished the half by scoring seven of the final nine points to trim the W&J lead to 42-22 at the break.
Nine consecutive points by the Mounties to open the second half brought the home team within 11 points at 42-31. However, consecutive three-pointers by Mazza allowed W&J to extends its lead to 50-33 with 14:16 to play. A layup by Langston less than three minutes later pushed the W&J advantage back to 19 points at the 11:40 mark. The Presidents led by double digits for the entirety of the second half before finishing off the 79-65 victory.
De'Von Haggans led all players with 20 points and 12 rebounds for Mount Aloysius. The game featured a combined 49 fouls and 50 attempted free throws.
W&J returns to action in 2022 when they host Thiel College for a conference clash on Tuesday, Jan. 4. The game will be played at Salvitti Family Gymnasium with an 8 p.m. tip-off. The game will be broadcast by the PAC Sports Network as part of their Game of the Week coverage
