Box Score
WASHINGTON, Pa. (Feb. 18) – The Waynesburg University men's basketball team gave Washington and Jefferson all that they could handle on Wednesday night. However, the Yellow Jackets couldn't quite seal the deal as they fell by the final of 70-62 in an overtime Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) contest.
The loss gives Waynesburg a final regular season record of 6-18 and a sixth place finish in the PAC with a 2-10 mark. The win moves W&J to 16-8 overall and 7-4 in conference action.
Things started well for the Yellow Jackets as they jumped out to an 11-point lead (35-24) with 1:07 to go in the first half. W&J managed to trim the deficit to nine points (35-26) at halftime.
In the second half, Waynesburg continued to hold a solid advantage over the Presidents.
Following a surge by the home team that cut the Jackets' lead down to three (42-39), Waynesburg responded with a small five-point rally to put themselves ahead 47-39 with 12:51 left in the contest.
However, following the two free throws by junior guard Ryan Courneen that put his team up by eight, the Presidents responded with a 13-5 run to tie the game up at 52 all with 3:28 left in the contest, which was the score at the end of regulation.
In overtime, W&J scored first and never looked back as they scored the first seven points of the extra period to take a 59-52 lead. The home team led by as many as 11 (70-59), before a late three-pointer by senior guard Jason Clark brought about the final score of 70-62.
Both teams had their struggles from the floor, as neither squad shot at least 40 percent from the floor. However, Waynesburg held a big advantage from beyond the three-point arc as they hit on 12-of-32 from long range, compared to the Presidents' two-of-15 performance.
W&J was more effective from the free throw line, though, connecting on 28-of-38 from the foul line (74 percent), while the Jackets made just 10-of-17 (59 percent) from the charity stripe.
Waynesburg was led by senior guard Dan Happe, who continued to have a strong finish to his final collegiate season with a 17-point performance. Clark added 15 points on the night and Courneen chipped in 14.
The Presidents were led by senior center Josip Lucic-Jozak, who recorded a double-double consisting of a game-high 25 points and a contest-best 11 rebounds.
With the regular season behind them, Waynesburg must now wait to see where they will travel on the road to play their first-round PAC tournament game at.
