• Box Score

WAYNESBURG (Feb. 20) – Behind a combined 40 points from junior forwards Wahab Owolabi and Josip Lucic-Jozak, Washington & Jefferson College posted an 86-62 victory over the Waynesburg University men's basketball team Wednesday evening in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play.

The loss drops the Yellow Jackets to 8-16 overall with a 2-10 mark in league play at the end of the regular season. Meanwhile, the Presidents move to 11-13 overall and 7-4 in conference play before closing out their regular season on Saturday at Bethany College.

Senior forward Josh Parisi (pictured) led the Yellow Jackets with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting. The Ambridge product also posted five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Freshman swingman Erik Noone and senior guard Tim Drakeley each finished with 13 points.

The Presidents limited Drakeley to just 2-of-13 from the floor and zero-for-four from beyond the arc. The senior guard entered the game as the league's leading scorer at 22.2 points a game with field-goal percentage of 46.7 (156-of-334) from the field.

The first half was tightly contested, as the game remained in single digits throughout the period with three lead changes and a tie. Waynesburg held a nine-point lead, 21-12, with 6:20 left in the half before taking a 34-27 lead into the break.

In the opening minutes of the second half, W&J tied the contest at 42-42 with 14:43 left to play following an Owolabi free throw. The Presidents then seized control of the game with a 25-6 rally over the next seven-plus minutes to take a 67-48 lead with 7:10 remaining. During the run, W&J made 10-of-15 shots with Lucic-Jozak accounting for nine of the 25 points. The Presidents eventually expanded their lead to as many 24 points, 86-62, in the final seconds to earn their eighth-straight victory over the Yellow Jackets.

Lucic-Jozak, a 6-8 center, finished the game with 21 points on 8-of-12 attempts and 12 rebounds (seven offensive) in 18 minutes off the bench. Owolabi, a 6-4 forward, posted 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting with six rebounds. Freshman guard Brian Felker and sophomore guard Matt Drakeley added 15 and 10 points, respectively.

For the game, W&J shot 54.0 percent (34-of-63) from the floor, including 62.9 percent (22-of-35) in the second half. In comparison, Waynesburg made 37.7 percent (20-of-53) of its attempts from the field.

The Presidents out-rebounded the Yellow Jackets by a 41-26 margin with 16 offensive rebounds that led to 19 second-chance points. W&J dominated from near the basket, scoring 46 points from inside the paint, including 32 points in the second half.

Waynesburg enters next week's PAC Tournament as the No. 7 seed and will travel to face second-seeded Grove City College on Tuesday, Feb. 26. The Wolverines will host the tournament game with the start time still to be announced.