WASHINGTON, Pa. (Jan. 18) – The Waynesburg University men's basketball team stood tall against a red hot shooting effort from Washington & Jefferson to pick up a 92-84 road win on Wednesday night. The victory snapped Waynesburg's season-high six-game losing streak.
 
Both squads found their respective offenses early in the evening and had little trouble racking up the points. However, the Presidents (0-16, 0-9) managed to maintain a field goal percentage of over 60 percent well into the second half. By the time the first period came to a close, W&J held a slim 42-40 advantage.
 
The home team looked on its way to its first win of the season as it built up a 63-53 lead with 12:45 left to play. However, Waynesburg's (5-11, 3-6) patience and discipline in the face of the Presidents' offensive onslaught was about to start paying off.
 
Fueled by a variety of contributors, the Yellow Jackets put together their best offensive stretch of the contest, not only erasing their 10-point deficit, but building up an eight-point advantage. Waynesburg exploded for a 25-7 run that stretched until the 32-minute mark of the conference tilt and saw sophomore Nate Gearhart come off the bench to put on a show from long range.
 
Gearhart connected on four three-pointers during the spurt for 12 of his season-high 18 points. Junior Kendall Paige, sophomore Glen Hoffman, junior Jon Knab and sophomore Clay Karper all found the bottom of the basket to put Waynesburg in a position to claim victory.
 
The home team managed to pull within two points of Waynesburg as the game wore on to its conclusion, but was unable to complete the comeback. Paige put the final touches on the triumph by drilling four-straight free throws over the 13 seconds.
 
Knab paced one of Waynesburg's top offensive performances of the year with a team-high 20 points. He connected on eight-of-13 tries from the floor and went three-for-five from downtown. It was the junior's third-straight outing with 20-plus points and his fifth of the season.
 
Paige and senior point guard Timmy Kaiser both chipped in 10 points to the winning effort. Freshman point guard Frank Bozicevic came off the bench to dish out a team-high five assists, while Kaiser and Paige tied for the team lead with five rebounds each.
 
Both teams shot over 50 percent from the floor, with W&J edging Waynesburg 57 percent to 51 percent. The two participating squads were very even in three-point percentage and free throw percentage. The Jackets held a slight edge in rebounding (32-to-23).
 
Waynesburg returns home on Saturday to face off with the Bethany Bison. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.