Box Score
WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Dec. 20) – Waynesburg and Frostburg State came into Saturday afternoon's non-conference game with even 3-4 records. Throughout the 40 minutes of action, they played like two evenly-matched teams as the contest went down to the wire before a winner was determined.
Thanks to a pair of clutch free throws by senior guard Dan Happe with six seconds left on the clock, the Yellow Jackets were able to hang on and pull out an 81-79 victory that gets them back to .500 (4-4) on the season. The loss drops the Bobcats 3-5.
Waynesburg started the game off well as they were able to build a 16-6 with 14:37 left in the opening period. That ended up being the largest lead of the game as Frostburg battled back with a 12-2 run of their own to tie things up at 18-18 with 11:24 to go until halftime.
The visitors took their first lead a minute later when senior forward Carter Simmons dropped in a lay up that put FSU ahead 20-18. The two teams battled throughout the rest of the first half, with the Cats not relinquishing the lead.
Senior guard Zack Engel hit a three-pointer with 1:32 to go until the break to pull the Jackets to within one (38-37) after trailing by as many as seven.
After both teams returned to the court following the break, Frostburg was able to build their lead back up to seven points (48-41) on a lay up by sophomore guard/forward Steven Ogg. However, after that make, Waynesburg got back into the swing of things and managed to build a five-point lead (65-60) with 7:12 to go in the contest.
The two teams went back-and-forth over the next few minutes before junior guard Ryan Courneen drilled a three-pointer with 4:13 left to put his team up 73-70.
The Jackets got the lead as high as four (78-74) on a pair of Courneen free throws with 1:31 showing on the clock.
However, Frostburg wouldn't go away as a pair of Keith Hazel free throws pulled the Bobcats to within a point (79-78) of their opponents.
After Happe made his free throws to put Waynesburg up 81-78, FSU senior Juan Wansley was fouled on a three-point try by Engel, but the official ruled that the foul came before the shot. Wansley hit the first shot to make the score 81-79, but Waynesburg sophomore forward Jeff Young pulled down the last of his game-high seven rebounds to seal the victory as the buzzer sounded.
Courneen had a big day in helping to lead his team to victory as he tallied a game-high 17 points. He spearheaded a balanced Jacket attack that featured five players in double figures. Joining Courneen was senior guard Jason Clark (15), Engel (13), senior forward Colby Grubich (11) and Happe (10). Young added seven points off the bench.
Sophomore forward Busha Koffa led the Bobcats with 14 points. Frostburg also featured good balance in their offense as six players tallied at least nine points a piece in the loss.
Waynesburg was the better team from beyond the three-point arc on the day as they hit on 10-of-27 attempts (37 percent). Frostburg made just five long balls out of 16 attempts (31 percent).
The Yellow Jackets will try to pick up one more win before Christmas when they travel to South Euclid, Ohio, to take on Notre Dame College, an NAIA opponent. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
