Box Score
BETHANY, W.Va. (Jan. 27) – The Waynesburg University men's basketball team played right with Bethany for the first 20 minutes of a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) contest Wednesday night.
Unfortunately, the Bison were able to pull away from the upset-minded Yellow Jackets in the second half and picked up a 67-57 win. The loss dropped the Jackets to 2-14 on the season and 0-7 in the PAC. The victory kept the Bison, who came into the night tied for first in the conference, near the top of the PAC standings with a 6-2 conference mark (13-5 overall).
Things started well for the visitors as Waynesburg broke open a 4-4 score with a 7-0 run that put the Jackets up 11-4 with 15:38 to go in the opening quarter. Bethany counter-attacked and pulled to within a single point (13-12), before the Yellow Jackets opened up an 11-point edge (24-13), thanks to an 11-1 run. It was the largest lead of the game for the Orange and Black, and it came with 6:19 to go in the half.
However, Bethany ended the half with a 16-5 rally of their own to tie the game at 29-29 at halftime.
During the second half, Waynesburg as able to regain a one-point lead (33-32) early in the period. However, it was the last time the visitors held the lead as the Bison slowly built their advantage throughout the final 20 minutes of competition.
Playing his first game as a starter, junior forward Jeff Young put together another strong performance. In just his third game with the team this year, Young put together his first double-double of the season. The Washington, D.C. native set game highs with 14 points and 11 rebounds. He also tied for the game high with three assists.
Guards Ben Altmeyer and Erik Noone chipped in nine points each. Bethany featured a quartet of double-digit scorers, including freshman Nick Wilcox, who put up a team-high 13 points.
After being badly out-rebounded by Bethany in the first meeting between these two teams earlier this season, Waynesburg pulled down 39 boards to Bethany's 30 on Wednesday. However, the game was won on the free throw line, where Bethany connected on 24-of-33 tries from the charity stripe, while the Jackets managed to make just two-of-nine attempts.
The Jackets return to the court on Saturday, when they travel to Grove City to face the Wolverines in a PAC showdown.
