Box Score

WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Dec. 31) – The Waynesburg University men's basketball team closed out 2012 in style with a 80-63 victory over Muskingum University on Monday afternoon at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse.
 
With the victory, Waynesburg improved to 5-7 overall, while Muskingum remained winless at 0-11. The win pushed the Yellow Jackets' current winning streak to three in a row, which is their longest since the 2006-07 season when Waynesburg won five straight.
 
After Muskingum jumped out to a quick early lead, the Jackets tied it at 8-8 at the 15:49 mark of the first half before rattling off another 12 points to push out to a 20-8 lead over the next five minutes. The run was capped off by an E.J. Coleman layup with 10:20 to go in the first half.
Muskingum finally stopped the run by answering with a pair of free throws before the Jackets proceeded to answer with another 6-0 mini-run to make it 26-10 at the 8:58 mark.
 
Waynesburg's offense kept rolling and help the team build leads as large as 19 late in the first half when it was 36-17. Muskingum closed the half on a 13-7 run, but the Jackets still maintained a 42-30 halftime lead behind a team-high 10 first-half points from sophomore Jacob Fleegle.
 
In the second half, Muskingum cut the lead back to single digits on four different occasions, including just a six-point deficit at 60-54 with 8:29 remaining, but could never get any closer. Waynesburg pushed the lead back to double digits when sophomore Thomas Ellis hit a layup at the 6:29 mark to make it 68-58 Waynesburg.
 
From that point Waynesburg maintained a double-digit lead the remainder of the contest and holding Muskingum to just five points over the final six plus minutes.
 
Waynesburg's offense was paced by five scorers that finished in double figures, including Fleegle and Ellis, who poured in a team-high 17 points a piece. Sophomore Kenny Klase tallied 11 points, while sophomores Jason Propst and Casey Hope both racked up 10 points each. Senior center Kurt Bonnet pulled down a team-high nine rebounds in the victory.
 
Waynesburg shot a modest 40.6 percent (26-for-64) from the field, while limiting the Muskies offense to just 35.3 percent (18-for-51) on field goal attempts. Both teams were at the line quite a bit, as the teams combined for 46 personal fouls. Muskingum connected on 79.3 percent (23-for-29) at the charity stripe for a slight advantage, but the Jackets held their own at 66.7 percent (24-for-36). The Jackets also won the turnover battle, only turning it over nine times to Muskingum's 20 turnovers.
 
Waynesburg will look to continue its winning streak and earn its first Presidents' Athletic Conference victory when they jump back into conference play on Wednesday, traveling to rival Washington and Jefferson. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. The two teams split last year's two meetings, with Waynesburg winning at W&J.