WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Dec. 17) – The Waynesburg University men's basketball team combined solid shooting with a greedy defense to pick up a 92-80 non-Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) win over Pitt Greensburg on Saturday. The victory avenged last year's 97-88 loss to the Bobcats, who qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament by winning the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.
 
After falling behind 4-2 over the first 1:22 of play, Waynesburg (4-5) used a 10-2 run to jump ahead 12-6. The Jackets controlled the majority of the game's first 10 minutes, before Pitt Greensburg (0-9) grabbed a slim 23-20 edge on the home team with just over nine minutes left to play before halftime. That lead wound up being the Bobcats' largest of the day.
 
Sophomore Nate Gearhart's three-pointer tied the contest at 23-23, but the visitors regained the lead at 25-23 on the ensuing possession. However, back-to-back layups by junior wing Jon Knab put Waynesburg back up 27-25. The Jackets never trailed for the remainder of the contest and a layup by freshman guard Jo Jo West capped a strong finish to the first half for the home team. Waynesburg took a 41-32 lead into the locker room.
 
The Bobcats pulled to within a point of the lead at 43-42 after 2:22 had gone by in the second half. Waynesburg's response to Greensburg's challenge was a 12-2 run that gave the Jackets their biggest lead of the game to that point (55-44). Knab powered the surge with four successful layups.
 
UPG was able to close the gap to just four points with 8:34 showing on the game clock, but, once again, the Waynesburg offense was ready with a response. A quick 7-0 spurt rebuilt a double-digit lead for the Jackets at 74-63 with 7:42 left in the game. The outcome was never really in doubt from that point on, as the Orange and Black expanded its advantage to as many as 20, before settling in for the 12-point victory.
 
Knab posted his second 20-point game of the year and his eighth double-digit scoring effort of the season with a nine-for-16 showing from the floor. He led a balanced Jacket offensive effort that included four players with at least 10 points and six with at least eight points.
 
Junior Marcus Wallace notched his second double-double of the year with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while senior point guard Timmy Kaiser went for 11 points and a game-high five assists. Gearhart came off the bench with 10 points, most of which came from a game-high three successful three-point attempts.
 
West was perfect from the floor, going three-for-three in field goals, one-for-one in three-point attempts and two-for-two on free throw tries. That flawless effort yielded nine points. Freshman Nick Valentic chipped in eight points to the winning effort.
 
Waynesburg forced the Bobcats into 20 turnovers on the afternoon, 14 of which came off steals. The Yellow Jackets also allowed just six assists from the opposition.
 
The Jackets are off to enjoy Christmas, before wrapping up the 2016 calendar year at the Smoky Ballenger Tournament, which is being hosted by Otterbein on Dec. 29 and 30. Waynesburg opens the event against Hiram with tipoff scheduled for 3 p.m.