Box Score
GREENVILLE, Pa. (Dec. 3) – It took a little extra time to do it, but the Waynesburg men's basketball team picked up their first win over Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) rival Thiel since 2006-2007 with a 105-104 double overtime victory on Wednesday night.
The game was the PAC opener for both teams. The Yellow Jackets improved to 3-2 on the year, while Thiel dipped to 1-5.
It was a tale of two halves for the Jackets, as they fell behind 47-37 at halftime, despite both teams shooting an equal 50 percent in the first 20 minutes. However, in the second half, the Jackets clawed back into the contest.
Again, the two teams were fairly even from the floor, but Waynesburg connected on 18-of-22 free throws, as compared to Thiel's seven made shots from the charity stripe on 11 tries.
What made the visitors' comeback all the more impressive, was the fact that they trailed by as many as 16 in the final 20 minutes of play.
After falling behind by 16 with just over 15 minutes to go, Waynesburg went on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit in half (63-55). Thiel got the lead back up to a dozen over the next few minutes of regulation (67-55), but the Jackets responded by out-scoring the Tomcats 15-5, to cut the deficit to just two points (72-70) with 4:43 to go.
With under one minute to go, Waynesburg took their first lead of the game since being up 4-1 just minutes into the contest, when junior Ryan Courneen knocked down a three-pointer to put his team up 79-78.
However, Thiel's Roddy Fuller nailed one-of-two free throws to send the game into its first overtime.
Waynesburg played well in the first extra period, building a five-point advantage with just 14 seconds showing on the clock. But, the home team wasn't ready to give up just yet as they tied the contest back up (97-97) with just two seconds to go on a three-pointer by Devon Adams, sending the game into a second overtime.
This time, it was Thiel who got a two-basket lead as they went up 102-97 on back-to-back hoops to open the period.
The visiting Jackets didn't yield, out-scoring Thiel 7-2 over the next few minutes of overtime number two to tie the game at 104-104 on a Jason Clark layup. The senior guard was also fouled on the play, sending him to the line with a chance to win the game.
Waynesburg finally put the game away with 1:03 showing on the clock as Clark completed the three-point play with the eventual game-winning free throw, putting his team up 105-104.
Neither team scored over the final minute-plus of action.
The 105 points scored by the Jackets was their highest offensive output since dropping 117 on Westminster on January 25 of 2006.
The victorious visitors saw three of their own put up season-high scoring totals. Senior guard Dan Happe and sophomore forward Jeff Young led the way with 23 points each. Young's performance off the bench was particularly impressive as he converted five-of-eight shots from the floor, and took full advantage of a game-high 15 free throws, making 13 of them.
The native of Washington D.C. also led the team with six rebounds.
Speaking of stellar bench work, senior guard Zack Engel poured in a season-best 22 points on eight-of-16 from the field.
Courneen added 12 points to the winning effort.
As a team, the Jackets shot an impressive 84 percent (37-44) from the free throw line on the night, and also connected on 30 of 59 shots (50.8 percent) from the floor.
The Tomcats were paced by Fuller, who led all players in both points (24) and rebounds (8) in the losing effort.
The Waynesburg men return to PAC play on Saturday when they head to Bethany to take on the defending conference champions.
