Box Score
WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Dec. 18) – The Waynesburg University men's basketball team squeezed in one more game before Christmas on Wednesday night at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse. The Yellow Jackets gave their home fans a little early Christmas present as they blew open a four-point halftime lead en route to an 84-70 win over Hiram.
Waynesburg (5-5) recorded the first six points of the game on back-to-back layups from junior forward
Jason Propst and a pair of free throws courtesy of junior forward
Jacob Fleegle. The Terriers (2-6) dropped in their first basket after a little more than three minutes of play, but the home team stayed in the lead until Hiram tied the game at 14-14 with 10:24 showing on the first-half clock.
An 8-3 Jacket run gave the Orange and Black a 22-17 advantage with just under eight minutes remaining in the opening period. The visitors responded with a 10-2 scoring surge to take their largest lead of the game at 27-24. However, that lead was short-lived, thanks to senior
E.J. Coleman's game-tying three-pointer. That trey sparked a 10-0 spurt from the host squad, which jumped ahead 34-27 with 53 seconds remaining until the break. Hiram scored the final three points of the period, but the Jackets went into the locker room boasting a 34-30 edge.
Waynesburg never trailed in the second half of its latest victory, and began putting the game away with 16:51 left to play. Leading 41-36, the Jackets took off on a 12-2 run that boosted their lead to 53-38 with just over 14 minutes showing on the clock. The home team never led by fewer than 12 points for the remainder of the contest, and led by as many as 20 (84-64) before finishing off the opposition.
Propst led the Jacket charge with his third double-double of the year. The Brighton, Colo. native poured in a game-high 23 points and a contest-best 10 rebounds. He also swatted three shots and dropped four assists.
Propst was one of four Waynesburg players to reach double digits in scoring. Sophomore guard
B.J. Durham dropped 13 points on the Terriers, while Fleegle and sophomore forward
Nate Labishak contributed 12 and 11 points, respectively, to the victory. Fleegle nearly completed a double-double of his own after yanking down eight rebounds.
Waynesburg shot a respectable 46 percent from the floor (32-of70), while holding the opposition to just a 34 percent showing on field goals. The Jacket defense also totaled 10 steals, as compared to four for the Terriers.
After taking 10 days off to celebrate the Christmas season, the Orange and Black get back to work on Saturday, Dec. 28, with a road trip to Muskingum College. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
