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Box Score
STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (Jan. 23) – Behind a 30-point performance from senior guard
Tim Drakeley and three other players with 10 points, the Waynesburg University men's basketball team cruised to a 78-59 victory over Franciscan University Wednesday night.
The Yellow Jackets snapped their four-game losing streak to improve to 7-9 this year. Waynesburg shot 50.0 percent (11-of-22) from beyond the arc in the game and limited Franciscan (2-14) to 30.4 percent (7-of-23) from long range.
Drakeley accounted for eight of the 11 treys by the Yellow Jackets, as he went 8-for-11 from three-point territory, finishing just one trey short of tying the single-game school record of nine set by Rob Strcula in the 2001-02 season.
Senior guard
Jered Gamble and senior forward
Josh Parisi each finished with 10 points each, while sophomore
Ryan Courneen added 10 points off the bench. Parisi posted a team-high nine rebounds, while Gamble collected six assists and four steals.
Waynesburg dominated in points off turnovers (16-0), as Franciscan committed 13 turnovers opposed to the Yellow Jackets' season-low six turnovers.
The 19-point win was the biggest margin of victory for the Yellow Jackets this season, as they ran out to a 46-26 halftime lead behind a 58.6 percent (17-of-29) field-goal percentage in the first 20 minutes. The 46 points scored in the first half were the third-highest, first-half total of the year for Waynesburg, as they scored 50-plus first-half points in two games earlier this year.
The Yellow Jackets held the lead the entire game despite a close score in the opening six minutes before they mounted a 17-5 run over an eight-minute span to take a 33-17 lead, capped by a three-pointer from junior swingman
Dan Happe. Waynesburg added an 11-0 run late in the first half, capped by three-straight treys from Drakeley to increase their lead to 46-23 with just 1:25 left before halftime.
The Barons were paced by 16 points from junior guard Matt Liedel off the bench, while junior forward Robert Slattery finished with 15 points and nine rebounds.
Waynesburg returns to conference play on Saturday, Jan. 26, when it hosts Thiel College at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m.
