Box Score

BETHANY, W.Va. (March 8) – The Waynesburg University men's basketball team made its first appearance in an Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) tournament game since the 1997-98 season on Saturday. The third-seeded Yellow Jackets faced off with second-seeded Hood College at host Bethany College and despite playing a solid first half, fell to the Blazers 103-75 in the semifinals of the ECAC Southwest Tournament.
 
Waynesburg (15-13) needed just five seconds to score the game's first basket, which came on a layup by junior Kenny Klase. The two teams traded baskets and leads throughout the first six-plus minutes of the contest, and with 13:37 showing on the first-half clock, the Jackets held a 13-12 lead following a layup by junior forward Tyler Miller.
 
Unfortunately, that was the last lead the Orange and Black enjoyed on the day, as Hood (18-10) went on a 7-0 run that gave it a 19-13 advantage with 12:38 remaining in the period. Waynesburg stayed close to its final opponent of the season throughout the remainder of the half and trailed by just three points (40-37) with under a minute showing on the scoreboard. However, the Blazers closed the first 20 minutes of action with a 5-0 spurt that gave them a 45-37 halftime advantage.
 
The Jackets pulled back to within four points (45-41) of the eventual victors thanks to back-to-back layups from junior forward Jacob Fleegle and senior guard E.J. Coleman. The game was ultimately decided over the next six minutes of play, which saw the Blazers take off on a 23-to-nine surge that built their lead to 68-50 with 13:24 left to play. Hood built leads as large as 30 points before finishing off the win.
 
The victors ultimately triumphed thanks to a red hot shooting performance over the final 20 minutes of competition. Hood shot 60 percent from the floor (23-of-38) overall and made an eye-popping eight-of-11 attempts from three-point range. The Blazers also connected on 84 percent (16-of-19) of its free throw attempts over the duration of the contest.
 
The Jackets were led by freshman guard Christian Koroly, who knocked down four treys in seven tries during a team-high 12-point showing. Fleegle pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and tied for the game high in assists with four helpers.
 
Hood will face fourth-seeded Juniata in Sunday's ECAC Southwest championship game. The Eagles knocked off the top-seeded host Bison prior to the Waynesburg/Blazers clash.