GROVE CITY, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson men's basketball team took care of business during their first game back since the holiday pause. The Presidents logged a 75-52 victory over Presidents' Athletic Conference foe Grove City.
 
The Presidents picked up their third PAC victory of the season moving their conference record to 3-1 (5-2 overall). The loss for the Wolverines granted Grove City their first conference loss of the season.
 
Quinton Burlenski (Bridgeport, Ohio/Central Catholic) led the Presidents in scoring with a season-high 19 points and three rebounds. Fellow freshman Cameron Rowell (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) accompanied Burlenski in double-figure scoring with 17 points of his own. Nathan Plotner (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South) capped off the Presidents scorers in double-figures with 12 points and nine rebounds with a near double-double effort.
 
The Presidents opened the bout with an 11-2 run to start the first half. Burlenski and Plotner each contributed four points to the early run. A jumper in the paint by Plotner halted the Wolverines scoring spree in the early going, 19-13. A driving layup by Josh Chambers (Hanover, Md./Indian Creek) capped off the scoring for W&J in the opening half. The Presidents took a comfortable 38-24 lead into the half. Burlenski scored 12 of the Red & Black's first half points while Rowell contributed 10 points.
 
The second half kept the same trajectory with the Presidents carrying a favorable lead throughout the remaining half. Matthew Carte (Ravenswood, W.Va./Ravenswood) made a layup to push the Presidents' lead over the 20-point mark, up 57-36. Nick Colucci (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) and Jackson Pierce (Berea, Ohio/Saint Ignatius) scored their first points of the season as W&J coasted to a 75-52 win over the Wolverines. Peirce's first career points came on a layup in the paint to give the Presidents their final mark of the half.
 
W&J held favorable advantages in bench points (34-14), points in the paint (48-32) and fast break points (13-4). The Presidents held slight margins in rebounding (32-27) and points off of turnovers (14-9). The Wolverines held a strong advantage in second chance points (17-8).
 
W&J returns to the court this weekend against conference foe Bethany, Saturday (Dec. 7). The bout is scheduled to start in West Virginia at 3:00 p.m.