WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Dec. 4) – The Waynesburg University men's basketball team opened Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play on Wednesday evening. The Yellow Jackets built up a five-point halftime lead against visiting Thomas More, but couldn't maintain their advantage, as the Saints came back to pick up an 84-74 win.
 
The Jackets (1-5, 0-1) took their first lead of the night when a 5-0 run early in the game turned a 10-6 deficit into an 11-10 edge with 15:18 left to play before halftime. Thomas More (3-4, 1-0) not only regained the lead, but grew it to as many as seven points (29-22) with 6:25 left to play before halftime.
 
Waynesburg erased the lead and built up a five-point (34-29) advantage with a 12-0 run that lasted nearly three minutes. The home team's lead grew to as many as seven points, before the two squads broke for their respective locker rooms with the Jackets leading 39-34.
 
The Orange and Black looked poised to complete the victory after opening up the second half with an 8-3 run over the first 2:33 that pushed its advantage to 47-37. Waynesburg kept Thomas More out of the lead for the first nine minutes of the period, before the Saints moved back on top 57-54. The lead change occurred during a 13-0 run over a three-plus-minute span that ended with Thomas More holding a 65-54 lead with 8:37 showing on the clock.
 
The eventual winners led for the remainder of the conference showdown. The Jackets were able to pull within eight points with one minute left to play, but got no closer towards completing the comeback.
 
Waynesburg was led by senior Thomas Ellis, who scored a team-high 17 points over just 14 minutes played off the bench. The veteran also yanked down a squad-best seven rebounds.
 
Junior guard B.J. Durham dropped 13 points in the loss, while senior Jason Propst chipped in 12 points on the night.       
 
The Jackets are back on the court at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse on Saturday, Dec. 6, when they welcome Grove City to town for another PAC matchup. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.