OBERLIN, Ohio – In a battle of undefeated teams, the Washington & Jefferson College men's basketball team was edged by Oberlin in a 64-63 championship bout, Saturday afternoon at the Philips Gymnasium.
 
Three Presidents scored double digits in the outing. Junior Matt Seidl (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) led the offensive charge with 16 points followed by sophomore Matthew Carte (Ravenswood, W.Va./Ravenswood) and Junior Alex Acosta (Acworth, Ga. North Cobb) who put up 12 and 11 points, respectively. Seidl and Carte led the team in assists, both accounting for five each.
 
Acosta led W&J under the boards pulling down six rebounds followed by Nathan Plotner (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South) and Cameron Rowell (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) who each tallied three rebounds of their own.
 
Oberlin started out with the upper hand outscoring W&J by a 39-27 deficit after the first half. Carte was quick to the jump for the Red & Black, scoring seven of the teams' first nine points in the game, keeping the score close at 11-9. Freshman guard Quinton Burlenski (Bridgeport, Ohio/Central Catholic) was another key point scorer in the first half of play for the Presidents, matching Carte with seven points knocked down as well. The two combined scored half of the team's total heading into the half.
 
W&J wasn't counted out yet however as they came back after the half to outscore the Yeomen in the second half by a 36-25 margin. Oberlin led 51-31 with just 16 minutes left in the game, but the Presidents composed a 22-4 run over the next nine minutes to reduce the Yeomen's lead all the way back down to just a two-point lead, 55-53 with 7:22 on the clock.
 
The 22-4 rally was all hands-on deck as seven Presidents chipped in to cut the deficit. Acosta tallied the most in the rally, scoring seven points alongside points from Presidents' Carte, Seidl, Rowell, Burlenski, Josh Chambers (Hanover, Md./Indian Creek) and Michael Plasko (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette).
 
It was a fight to finish from there as Oberlin got the margin back up to seven with 4:47 remaining but W&J answered back with an 8-0 response run, claiming its first lead of the game on a layup from Acosta with under a minute to play. The Yeomen scored with 30 seconds to go but the Presidents were unable to hit another mark before time expired, ending in a one-point loss, 64-63.
 
The Presidents compete next in their home opener against Baldwin Wallace on Tuesday (Nov. 12) evening in the Salvitti Family Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.