BETHANY, W. Va. – Three Presidents logged 20 or more points to uplift the Washington & Jefferson College men's basketball team over the Bethany Bison, 100-93.
The win additionally doubles as head coach
Ethan Stewart-Smith's 100
th career victory. Stewart-Smith is W&J's fifth coach in program history to log 100 wins as a President and the first men's basketball coach to hit this milestone since previous head coach Glenn Gutierrez (06-15). During this time Stewart-Smith has made five Presidents' Athletic Conference Tournament appearances, won the 2021-22 PAC Coach of the Year award and brought home W&J's first conference championship since the 1995 season in 2022.
Nathan Plotner (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South) totaled a game-high 28 points and team-high eight rebounds to pace the Presidents offense.
Alex Acosta (Acworth, Ga./North Cobb) followed with 24 points and four rebounds.
Matt Seidl (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) scored 20 points, finished second on the team in rebounds with six and tied for team high in assists with
Josh Chambers (Hanover, Md./Indian Creek) and
Matthew Carte (Ravenswood, W.Va./Ravenswood) who all tallied four. Freshman
Michael Plasko (McDonald, Pa./ South Fayette) joined the double digits crew as well, tallying 11 points against the Bison.
W&J held a comfortable lead for the entirety of the first half. Bethany was able to keep it within five points until the 6:06 minute mark when layups from Seidl and
Nick Sukernek (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) strengthened the lead, 38-31. The Presidents ended the first half ahead 49-48.
The Presidents maintained the lead for a large portion of the second half until the Bison were able to get ahead on two consecutive three pointers with under six minutes left. A jump shot by
Josh Chambers, layup from
Alex Acosta and two good free throws from
Matt Seidl put the Red & Black ahead once more, 90-88, with 3:43 remaining.
Points from Plotner, Seidl and Acosta sealed the deal from there as W&J expanded their lead to 100-93 to end the outing victorious.
The Presidents put together sizable advantages in points off turnovers (36-22) and fast break points (43-24). Quick ball movement and capitalizing on turnovers was rewarded, as W&J garnered 19 assists on 36 made baskets.
The Presidents return home to host the Geneva Golden Tornadoes on Tuesday (Dec. 10). The bout is scheduled for a tipoff of 8 p.m.
