WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Jan. 26) – The Waynesburg University men's basketball team welcomed Grove City to the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse for a Wednesday night Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) matchup. The Yellow Jackets used a strong second half to pull away for a 64-45 victory
 
The two teams battled through a tightly contested first half in which neither team led by more than seven points. At the end of the opening period, Waynesburg (6-12, 4-7) held a 27-23 edge over the visiting Wolverines (7-11, 3-8).
 
After emerging from the locker room, the Jackets were able to gain firm control of the conference clash. Waynesburg rolled off an 11-2 start to the second half to take a 38-25 lead after 3:18 of play.
 
Junior forward Marcus Wallace powered the surge with six points on two free throws and a pair of field goals. Sophomore wing Brennan Smith and junior wing Jon Knab also scored during the run.
 
Waynesburg maintained double-digit leads for the remainder of the contest. Thanks to a 56 percent showing from the floor over the final 20 minutes, the Jackets built up advantages as large as 25 points before completing the 19-point victory.
 
Wallace and Knab paced the Orange and Black offense with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Those were the top two scoring efforts of the night. Smith, freshman guard Frank Bozicevic and sophomore Nate Gearhart chipped in seven points each to the winning effort.
 
Despite not having a player with more than six rebounds, the home team out-rebounded Grove City by a 40-to-29 advantage. Five different Jackets recorded between four and six boards each. Smith dropped off a game-high five assists.
 
Defensively, Waynesburg racked up 15 steals and forced the Wolverines into 20 turnovers. The Jackets held Grove City to 30 percent shooting from the floor and just 13.3 percent from three-point range.
 
Waynesburg returns to the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse on Saturday, Jan. 28, for a home PAC matchup with Thiel. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.