GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson College men's basketball team completed the season sweep of the Thiel Tomcats Wednesday night at the Beeghly Gymnasium.
The Presidents wrap up their regular season play with a 19-6 overall record and 15-5 mark in Presidents' Athletic Conference play.
Matt Seidl (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) led the way for the Presidents with a team-high 23 points, five rebounds, three steals, three assists and two blocks. With his 23-point performance, Seidl becomes the 27th W&J men's basketball player to score over 1,000 career points and the third consecutive player to reach the milestone in the past three seasons.
Nathan Plotner (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South) followed up Seidl's special night with his ninth double-double of the season tallying 17 points, 11 boards and six blocks. Cameron Rowell (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) and Matthew Carte (Ravenswood, W.Va./Ravenswood) rounded out the players scoring in double figures with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
The Presidents found their stride early, building a 24-10 lead with 12:21 left in the first half. Thiel responded with a 14-7 run before W&J stiffened up defensively, only allowing the Tomcats six more points before heading into the second half ahead 48-30.
The Tomcats made a comeback attempt in the final five minutes of play compiling a 12-4 run, but to no avail as the Presidents held on for the 84-75 victory. In the closing minutes, Seidl drained a triple to elevate the North Hills product above the 1,000 point threshold. Seidl tacked on an additional free throw to push his career total in points to 1,002.
W&J held the advantage in fast break points (24-17) and points off turnovers (26-24) while the Tomcats headed differentials in 2nd chance points (17-8), bench points (22-18) and points in the paint (42-34).
The Presidents enter next week's PAC Tournament as the No. 3 seed and will face an opponent to be determined in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, Feb. 25. Start time at Salvitti Family Gymnasium is scheduled for 7 p.m.
