WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Jan. 16) – The Waynesburg University men's basketball team opened a new chapter in its history by welcoming Chatham University to the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse on Saturday. It was the first-ever meeting between the Yellow Jackets and their newest Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) rival. Waynesburg opened the new rivalry with an 80-69 win over the Cougars.
 
Things did not start well for the Jackets (3-12, 3-5), who fell behind 10-4 after 2:30 of play. Waynesburg responded to the Chatham (3-12, 3-5) challenge with a 14-0 run that lasted nearly six minutes.
 
The home team got its offensive surge going with a two-handed dunk from senior wing D.J. Ritchie. Sophomore Jon Knabb followed with a layup setup by an assist from Ritchie. Senior guard B.J. Durham knocked down a jumper to tie the score at 10-10. Waynesburg took its first lead on a three-pointer by Durham that made the score 13-10. Freshman wing Brennan Smith doubled the Jacket advantage to six points on a trey of his own and ended the run with a two-point basket.
 
Waynesburg controlled the remainder of the first half and built leads as large as 18 points. By the time the buzzer sounded for the halftime break, the Jackets held a 44-27 advantage.
 
Chatham never led over the second half, but provided the host team with a stiff challenge over the final 20 minutes of play. The Cougars whittled their deficit all the way down to just three points with 7:17 showing on the game clock.
 
Waynesburg was able to rebuild a double-digit advantage thanks in large part to a Ritchie three-pointer and a Durham layup that put the Jackets up 73-62 with just under four minutes left to play. The Orange and Black grew its lead to as large as 13 points over the stretch run of the contest before settling in for the 11-point win.
 
Durham led the charge to victory with a game-high 22 points on eight-of-16 shooting, including four successful three-point attempts. Ritchie chipped in 16 points to the winning effort, while Knab and junior Christian Koroly added nine points on the day.
 
Waynesburg overcame a major deficit at the free throw line by shooting 57.4 from the floor. The Jackets also held a 34-26 rebounding advantage.
 
Waynesburg is back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 20, when it hosts Geneva. Tip is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.