Box Score

WAYNESBURG, PA. (Jan. 4) – The Waynesburg University men's basketball team raced out to an early lead against the Geneva on Saturday night and never looked back on its way to its first Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) win of the season. The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 44-22 lead at halftime and went on to score an 82-59 win over the Golden Tornadoes.
 
The home team (6-7, 1-3) fired off an 11-to-three game-opening run that took 2:43 to accomplish. Junior guard Byrum Louco scored six points in the early surge. After a Geneva (4-8, 0-3) basket cut its deficit to six points, the Orange and Black offense kept right on rolling and after nine minutes of competition, the Jackets' lead ballooned to 25-7.
 
The Golden Tornadoes pulled to within 11 (29-18) with six minutes showing on the first-half clock, before a 15-to-four scoring spurt from the host team brought about its 22-point halftime lead. Not surprisingly, Waynesburg performed well from the field over the first 20 minutes of action. The Yellow Jackets shot 53 percent overall, and made four-of-eight attempts from three-point range.
 
The Orange and Black was able to carry its momentum into the second half and after 5:14 had ticked off the scoreboard, Waynesburg held a game-high 29-point advantage (57-28). To the Tornadoes' credit, they didn't give up and were able to cut their deficit down to 13 points (68-55) with just over three minutes left to play. The Jackets eventually stopped the Geneva run and rebuilt its 20-plus point advantage to seal the victory.
 
Waynesburg featured a balanced scoring attack led by five players who posted at least nine points each in the victory. Senior guard E.J. Coleman and junior forwards Jason Propst and Thomas Ellis all dropped in a team-high 14 points. Louco added 12, while freshman guard Christian Koroly posted a nine-point night on four-of-five shooting.
 
Louco, Ellis and junior forward Jacob Fleegle ripped down a team-high six rebounds each, as the Jackets out-boarded the opposition by a 44-34 margin. Junior guard Kenny Klase dished out a game-high four assists and Louco swiped away a game-high six steals. Waynesburg gathered up 15 steals as a team, while Geneva countered with just three.
 
The Jackets will look for their second-straight PAC victory on Wednesday, Jan. 8, when Washington & Jefferson comes to the Marisa Fieldhouse. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.