Box Score
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. (Feb. 7) – A furious late-game charge by the Yellow Jacket men's basketball team fell a few hoops short as the Waynesburg men dropped an 83-75 contest to the host team from Westminster.
The loss dropped Waynesburg to 6-15 overall and 2-8 in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play, while the Titans continued to rebound after a rough start to their year by improving to 7-15 overall and 6-4 in PAC competition.
After falling behind 36-28 at halftime, the Yellow Jackets yielded several scoring runs to the Titans, as Westminster got out to a lead as large as 23 (61-38) with 13:16 to go in the contest.
However, the Jackets battled back and trimmed the deficit down to as little as seven points (82-75), thanks in large part to some hot shooting from several players like senior guard Dan Happe, who scored 19 of his game-high 21 points in the final 20 minutes.
Senior guard Zack Engel poured in 11 second-half points and junior guard Ryan Courneen chipped in nine points off the bench.
The Jackets also utilized some accurate shooting as a team in the second half, connecting on 50 percent of their shots from three-point range (7-of-14) and 89 percent of their shots from the free throw line (eight-of-nine).
Along with Happe's big night, a trio of Jackets rolled up 13 points a piece on the night in Engel, Courneen and senior guard Jason Clark. Sophomore forward Jeff Young came off the bench to pull down a team-best nine rebounds.
Westminster was led by junior forward Ryne Murray, who tallied a team-best 15 points, and freshman forward Rob Briggs, who picked up a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds.
The Titans held a big advantage in free throws that helped lead to their victory. While Waynesburg efficiently connected on nine-of-11 from the foul line, while the Titans made 16-of-31 at the stripe.
The Yellow Jackets will try to get on the winning track when they host Geneva Wednesday night.
