Box Score
WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Nov. 20) – Last year, the Waynesburg University men's basketball team fell 90-63 to a Marietta team that made its second trip to the NCAA Division III tournament over the past three years. Wednesday night, the Yellow Jackets welcomed the Pioneers to the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse. Though the Jackets were unable to pull the upset against the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) power, the home team showed marked improved from last season in a 78-65 setback.
Waynesburg (2-1) and Marietta (3-0) came out firing over the first few minutes of play as both teams had their offensive rhythm early in the contest. The visitors grabbed an early 7-6 lead after two minutes of action, before both squads went silent from the floor over the next two minutes. The Yellow Jackets pulled ahead 10-9 with 14:34 showing on the first-half clock, but that advantage was short-lived and wound up being the final time the home team was ahead of the defending OAC champions.
Marietta ended the first period with a 31-26 edge on the Jackets, which expanded to 34-26 on a quick Marietta three-pointer to open period number two. Five-straight points from junior
Jacob Fleegle made the score 34-31, but the visitors fired back with an 8-0 surge that more than tripled the Pioneer lead to 42-31. The Jackets continued to cut into the visiting team's leads, before coming up just short of pulling ahead of the opposition.
The Orange and Black trailed by just two points (54-52) after a successful free throw by junior
Kenny Klase with 8:41 left to play. Five-straight Pioneer points rebuilt a multi-hoop lead for the Blue and White, which expanded to as many as 15 points, before a Klase layup brought about the final score of 78-65.
Klase led all Waynesburg scorers with 15 points, while Fleegle chipped in 12 points of his own. Junior forward
Jason Propst just missed out on his second double-double of the season after dropping nine points and pulling down a game-high 12 rebounds.
The Jackets were slightly better from the field on the night (42 percent to 38 percent), while the Pioneers held a 42-to-37 edge in rebounding. The game was ultimately decided at the free throw line, where Marietta made 22-of-31 tries from the stripe. Waynesburg connected on just seven-of-15 foul shots.
Waynesburg will look to get back on the winning track on Saturday, Nov. 23, when the Jackets travel to Franciscan. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
