WAYNESBURG, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson College men's basketball team (11-3, 4-1 PAC) handled Waynesburg University (5-9, 1-4 PAC) in a decisive 93-63 victory Wednesday evening in a Presidents' Athletic Conference game at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse in Greene County.
Five Presidents scored in double figures.
Alex Acosta (Acworth, Ga./North Cobb) led a balanced attack with 15 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
Nathan Plotner (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South) matched the game high with 15 points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting from the field while adding six rebounds.
Matt Seidl (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) added 14 points while
Michael Plasko (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) tallied 11 markers.
Matthew Carte (Ravenswood, W.Va./Ravenswood) chipped in 10 points in the winning effort.
Quinton Burlenski (Bridgeport, Ohio/Central Catholic) and
Cameron Rowell (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) added nine points apiece.
The Presidents used a blistering first half shooting performance to build a double-digit lead by midway through the opening period. W&J converted at a 60 percent rate (18-of-30) from the field over the first 20 minutes. That effort helped the Red and Black build a comfortable lead by the break.
Waynesburg built an early 7-5 advantage. However, W&J countered with a 10-0 run to regain the lead for good. Back-to-back triples by Rowell and Seidl made it a 17-7 advantage for the Presidents at the 13:10 mark. A few minutes later, back-to-back field goals by Plasko and Acosta extended the Presidents lead to 26-15. Later in the half, a dunk by Rowell extended the W&J lead to 37-20. The Red and Black led by as many as 19 points in the first half. W&J carried a 48-31 advantage into halftime.
The second half featured more of the same. The Presidents ripped off 15-straight points to swell the lead to 63-31 less than four minutes into the half. The lead reached as many as 35 points when W&J made it 88-53 with a three-point field goal by
Nick Sukernek (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) at the 6:09 mark.
Torrien Perkins (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy), Conner Roberts and
Josh Chambers (Hanover, Md./Indian Creek) found the scoring column off the bench in the second half.
W&J outscored Waynesburg by a 45-32 margin over the final 20 minutes. The Presidents connected on 48.8 percent of its shots (20-of-41) in the second half.
The Presidents travel to Hiram College on Saturday (January 17). The matchup will be the first conference battle between the two schools since the Terriers rejoined the league. Tip off is scheduled for 3 p.m. in the Buckeye State.
