WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson College men's basketball team bested the Bethany Bison by a score of 91-71, on the Presidents' Alumni day.
W&J lifted their win streak to three, elevating the team's overall record to 15-5 and Presidents' Athletic Conference mark to 11-4.
Men's basketball's future glistened as freshman
Cameron Rowell (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) guided the Presidents in scoring with a season-high 21 points coupled with five steals.
Nathan Plotner (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South) compiled his sixth double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Freshman
Quinton Burlenski (Bridgeport, Ohio/Central Catholic) finished the night with 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
Burlenski sparked the W&J offense in the early going with three-straight triples while the Bison opened the half shooting 0-for-10 until the 15:07 mark. After the Bison gained their first lead of the matchup, Rowell drained a three pointer which sparked a scoring barrage. Plotner and the Presidents press created havoc for the Bethany offense as W&J grew their lead to 26-14. Maintaining their double figure lead, the Presidents took a 35-25 lead into the half.
Out of the break, the Presidents ripped off 10-0 run to open the half sparked by a paint layup from
Alex Acosta (Acworth, Ga./North Cobb). Back-to-back threes from
Matthew Carte (Ravenswood, W.Va./Ravenswood) and
Matt Seidl (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) grew the W&J lead to 45-25. Plotner and Rowell each logged dunks down the stretch to energize the offense.
The Presidents amassed a 27-point lead by the five-minute mark off a layup from
Nick Sukernek (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair).
Mark Johnson Jr. (Princeton, N.J./John Curtis Christian School (La.)),
Raine Gratzmiller (Butler, Pa./Butler),
Brandon Learn (New Stanton, Pa./Hempfield),
Harrison Sowers (Irwin, Pa./Hempfield), and
Connor Roberts (Washington, Pa./Trinity) all got on the board as W&J cruised to a 91-71 win.
W&J held strong advantages in paint points (56-34), points on the break (39-15) and points off of turnovers (27-12). W&J finished with a season-high 24 assists on 38 made field goals.
Men's hoops hits the road for their next PAC matchup against the Geneva Golden Tornadoes on Wednesday (Feb. 5). Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.