BEREA, Ohio – The Washington & Jefferson College men's basketball team (1-1) downed the Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets (0-2) by a score of 82-68.
The Presidents were led by the efforts of junior forward
Nathan Plotner (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South) who compiled his first double-double of the season. Plotner scored 19 points and hauled in 14 rebounds with a 7-for-9 mark from the field (77.7%). The junior captain also had six steals and three blocks.
Matt Seidl (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills),
Quinton Burlenski (Bridgeport, Ohio/Central Catholic),
Nick Colucci (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) and
Nick Sukernek (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) all scored 11 points on the night.
W&J rushed out to an early 10-5 lead within the first three minutes of the first half. Plotner, Seidl and Sukernek all drained three-point attempts to spark the early lead. Colucci and
Josh Chambers (Hanover, Md./Indian Creek) each made layups in the following possessions to help the Presidents regain a 25-20 edge at the nine-minute mark.
After trading multiple lead changes as the opening half came to a close, freshman
Parker Schramm (Williamstown, W.Va./Williamstown) made a triple and a fastbreak layup to put the Presidents ahead going into the half, 39-38.
The Presidents got back on track following the halftime break, entering a 9-2 run to open the second half.
Matthew Carte (Ravenswood, W.Va./Ravenswood) highlighted the run with a three pointer and made layup. The Presidents grew their lead to 17 at the halfway point of the closing half, up 62-45. Despite some resistance from the Yellow Jackets, the Presidents maintained the double figure lead for the remainder of regulation to win their first game of the 2025-26 season.
Despite losing the rebounding battle (41-35), W&J dominated in the paint (40-28) and scoring off of turnovers (29-12). The Presidents also committed nine less turnovers than the Yellow Jackets, 21-12. As a team, W&J shot 29-for-59 from the field (49.2%) and shot an improved 16-of-25 from the free-throw line (64.0%).
The Presidents return to action for their first weekend long tournament of the season at the Widener Tip-Off on Friday (Nov. 14). Their first game in the tournament is scheduled for a 6:00 p.m. start against Arcadia.
