Box Score
WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Dec. 13) – The Waynesburg men's basketball team got Saturday's game with undefeated Saint Vincent off to a strong start, but struggled with the athletic Bearcats as the contest wore on.
The visitors eventually built up a 40-25 halftime lead and went on to take a 79-64 decision. The win improved Saint Vincent's season record to 9-0, while the Yellow Jackets dropped to 3-4.
As previously mentioned, things started out well for the Jackets, thanks primarily to some good early shooting from beyond the three-point arc. With 7:39 left in the first period, sophomore forward Jeff Young made a free throw to give Waynesburg a 20-14 lead.
That was the largest lead the Jackets held on the night as the Bearcats started chipping away. With 6:28 showing on the clock, Saint Vincent's Billy Bains drilled a three-pointer to tie the game at 22-22.
From there, the Green and Yellow didn't trail, building up leads as high as 20 points (65-45) with 8:27 left in the contest. The Jackets were able to trim the lead down to as low as 13 points with 2:01 left in the game, before ultimately falling by 15.
Though it came in a losing effort, Waynesburg showed impressive accuracy from beyond the three-point arc, connecting on 11-of-22 treys (50 percent), as compared to just three-of-21 (14.3 percent) made threes for Saint Vincent.
Saint Vincent was able to overcome Waynesburg efficiency from downtown by converting 66.7 percent of their free throws (12-18) and making 29 two-pointers, as compared to just the 12 made by the Jackets.
Waynesburg junior guard Ryan Courneen led all scorers with 22 points on seven-of-11 shooting. He also made five-of-seven shots from beyond the arc. Senior guard Jason Clark added 19 points on the night. Young added a team-high 11 rebounds off the bench.
Saint Vincent was led by senior guard Billy Bains, who rolled up a team-best 21 points.
The Jacket men will try to get back on the winning path during a home game on Saturday, Dec. 20, against Frostburg State.
