Box Score

WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Jan. 12) – The Waynesburg University men's basketball team stepped out of Presidents' Athletic Conference action Saturday to take on Frostburg State on Saturday. Frostburg (6-10) rattled off 13-straight points over the first six-plus minutes and held off numerous Yellow Jacket (6-10) comeback attempts to beat the Yellow Jackets 69-61 at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse.
 
Waynesburg tried to dig itself out of the early hole by going on a six-point run, capped by a three-point play by sophomore Thomas Ellis at the 12:20 mark. Frostburg methodically pushed the lead back to 13 points with 9:32 left to play in the first half after scoring six-straight points of their own.
 
Waynesburg eventually whittled the Bobcats lead down to five at the 3:19 mark of the first half, after a tip-in by Ellis to make the score  26-21. Frostburg closed the half on a six to three run to build a 32-24 halftime lead.
 
When the second half got underway, Ellis picked up where he left off, drilling a three pointer to pull Waynesburg within five points of the Bobcats. Frostburg answered with seven-straight points to make it 39-27 and the Jackets where left to play catch-up for the rest of the contest.
 
Sophomore Jacob Fleegle capped an 8-2 Jacket run with a three pointer at the 14:04 mark, that drew the Jackets deficit to just five points at 41-36. Waynesburg got as close to tying the game as they would when sophomore Jason Propst hit a free throw with 6:41 to play that made the score 53-49. However, Frostburg countered with another big scoring surge, going on a 9-0 run over the next few minutes of play to make it 62-49 with 4:49 left to play.
 
Some steady play allowed the Jackets one final run at the Bobcats. The home team shrunk the deficit back down to five (66-61) with 1:06 to play, but Frostburg held off the Jackets by keeping them scoreless for the rest of the contest.
 
Both teams had some shooting woes at times, Frostburg made 22-of-62 (35.5 percent) from the field, while Waynesburg made just 19-of-65 (29.2 percent) from the floor. Frostburg did solid work at the line, hitting on 22-of-29 free throws for the contest, including hitting on their first 19 attempts. Waynesburg converted 15-of-27 (55.6 percent) at the charity stripe. Waynesburg did have an advantage from behind the three-point arc, making eight treys on the day. The Bobcats held a sizable advantage on the glass, pulling down 52 rebounds to the Jackets' 39 boards.
 
Ellis paced the Jackets with a team-high 18 points. Propst joined his fellow sophomore as the Jackets' only other scorer in double figures with 14 points. The Bobcats' Christian Jackson tallied game-highs in both points (38) and rebounds (17).
 
During halftime of the contest, Waynesburg honored a group of men's basketball alumni in attendance, the majority of whom played for the legendary teams of the 1970s and 1980s under former longtime head coach Rudy Marisa. The most notable individual in attendance was the school's all-time leading scorer Darrin Walls, who was a member of the 1987-88 NAIA Final Four squad.
 
The current Waynesburg men's team will be back in action at home on Wednesday night against PAC counterpart Saint Vincent. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.