GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Sophomore
Isaiah Langston (Coraopolis, Pa./Cornell) recorded his first collegiate double-double to help lead the Washington & Jefferson College men's basketball team to a 79-76 over Grove City Saturday afternoon in a game at the College Arena in Mercer County.
The win improves the Presidents to 12-3 overall and 7-1 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference play. W&J is 8-0 on the road this season and has won 12 game road winning streak overall. Grove City drops to 5-6 overall and 1-3 in the PAC.
Kyran Mitchell (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) put together another strong performance, leading W&J with 22 points, six rebounds and five steals. Langston finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds to log the double-double.
Nick Gearhart (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon) tallied 15 points and two blocks.
J.R. Mazza (Bridgeport, W.VA./University) rounded out the Presidents who scored in double figures by adding 11 points.
W&J jumped out to an early lead, which swelled to 14 points on a three-pointer by Gearhart that made the score 18-4 Presidents at the 11:26 mark of the first half. They Gearhart triple capped a 13-0 W&J run.
Grove City answered with four consecutive points before
Michael Bigley (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton LaSalle) laid in back-to-back layups to stretch the lead to 22-8.
An Elijah White jumper brought the Wolverines with seven points at the break, as W&J saw its advantage cut to 32-25 after 20 minutes.
White added another basket to even the score at 35-35 less than three minutes into the second half, as the Wolverines scored 10 of the first 13 points in the second half.
A layup by Luca Robinson at the 15:45 mark gave Grove City its only lead of the game at 41-40. Mitchell drained a three to put W&J back in front on the ensuing possession and the Red and Black held the lead for the remainder of the game.
A made three-pointer by Kaden Divito (Coraopolis, Pa./Cornell) stretched the W&J lead back to eight (55-47) with 11:25 to play. Grove City made it a one possession game three seperate times in the final minutes but the Presidents were able to hold on for the victory, as a desperation three-point attempt by Jonah Bock was off its mark.
Grove City held a 33-12 advantage in bench points. W&J outscored the hosts by a 38-28 margin in points in the paint.
Robinson led Grove City with 17 points. Five Wolverines scored in double figures during a balanced offensive effort.
W&J will return home on Wednesday, January 19th to host the Chatham Cougars. This PAC matchup is scheduled to start at 8 P.M. Only W&J students are permitted to attend the game.