WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson men's basketball team bounced back from a loss earlier in the week to down the visiting Waynesburg University Yellow Jackets in a 88-71 win Saturday afternoon in a Presidents' Athletic Conference game at the Salvitti Family Gymnasium.
The win improves W&J to 7-2 in PAC play and 10-4 overall. Waynesburg drops to 4-9 overall and 2-7 in league contests.
W&J got off to a hot start in this matchup an maintained their momentum for a majority of the game. A team-effort offensively let the Presidents take clean shots all around the court including three-point opportunities. The Presidents got off to an early 11-3 lead minutes into the first half as
J.R. Mazza (Bridgeport, W.Va. / University) and
Michael Bigley (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Seton LaSalle) converted some scoring opportunities.
W&J also enjoyed the benefits of a deeper rotation as they saw production from their younger players.
Brandon Jakiela (McDonald, Pa. / South Fayette) and
Matt Seidl (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Hills) continued their strong freshmen campaigns, as both players turned in production off of the W&J bench. The Presidents took a double-digit lead into the break as a pair of free throw makes by
Beckett Connelly (Beaver, Pa. / Beaver) gave the Red and Black a 43-29 advantage.
The Yellow Jackets made the second half interesting closing the gap to as few as six points early in the second half.
Isaiah Langston (Coraopolis, Pa. / Cornell) converted a three-point play to give W&J a 67-55 lead with 8:37 to go. The Presidents maintained a comfortable lead down the stretch before pulling away for good.
Seidl and Mazza led in the points category with 16 apiece. Bigley joined them in double figures scoring with 12 markers. Langston and Bigley both matched the team high with seven rebounds.
W&J held significant advantages in points off turnovers (30-15) and bench points (40-24). The Presidents converted 45.2 percent of its field goal attempts in the game.
The Presidents returns to action this Wednesday as they cap off the three-game home stretch against Bethany College. The tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
