WASHINGTON, Pa. -- J.R. Mazza (Bridgeport, W.Va./University) drained eight three-pointers and poured in a career-high 28 points to lead the Washington & Jefferson College men's basketball team to a 90-79 wire-to-wire victory over the visiting Westminster Titans in a Presidents' Athletic Conference game Saturday afternoon.at Salvitti Family Gymnasium.

The victory gave W&J the sweep of the regular season series with Westminster. This marks the first time that the Presidents have taken both regular season contests from the Titans since 2013-14. W&J won by a narrow 81-79 score at Westminster on Dec. 1.  W&J moves to 8-2 in PAC play and 13-4 overall. The loss drops Westminster to 7-3 in league play and  to 10-6 overall. 

Kyran Mitchell (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) backed Mazza by recording his second triple-double this season with 13 points, a career-high 15 rebounds and 10 assists. Additionally, Mitchell is the PAC leader with nine double-doubles this season. 

Nick Gearhart (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon) joined Mazza and Mitchell in double figures, as the sophomore registered 20 points and seven rebounds for the Red & Black. 

Mazza opened up the afternoon by draining a three for the first points of the game. Westminster was off to a slow start as the Titans did not score a single point until nearly five minutes into the game. 

A good jumper by Gearhart expanded the Presidents lead to five (9-4) with 14:41 remaining in the first half. However, Westminster's Reese Leone found the net from behind the arc just 16 seconds later to cut the lead to two. 

W&J's stretched its lead to as many as 14 points in the first half when Alexander Skowron (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) converted a layup layup with 3:16 remaining to make the score 38-24. W&J carried a 40-29 lead into the halftime break. 

The Presidents kept the Titans at a distance in the second half, as the hosts led by at least seven points the rest of the way. W&J held an 11-point advantage before a barrage of threes by Mazza effectively put things out of reach. Mazza knocked down four three-pointers during a five-possession span to swell the lead to 66-47 with 9:58 to play. 

A jumper by Reese Leone trimmed the Westminster deficit to 74-64 with 5:24 but that's as close as the visitors would get. Mazza knocked down his career-high eighth three-pointer to extend the lead to 84-69 with 2:53 to play. The eight made three-pointers was the most in a single-game this century. Three different Presidents had made seven three-pointers in a game since 2000. Doug Johnson was the last to make seven triples when he did so on Feb. 12, 2014. 

Westminster was led by Anthony Ritter with his 26 points while his brother Daniel Ritter recorded a double-double for the Titans with 15 points and 10 rebounds. 

The Presidents held a decided advantage in points off turnovers (29-6) and points in the paint (44-26). The Presidents recorded a season-best 11 blocks, as Gearhart recorded a career-high four blocks. 

W&J travels to Bethany for another PAC contest on Wednesday, Jan. 26. The tip-off is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start time. Per Bethany's policy, no external fans are permitted.