WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Nov. 29) – The Waynesburg University men's basketball team opened Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play on Wednesday by hosting Grove City at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse. The Yellow Jackets slugged it out over 40 gritty minutes and came out on the right side of a 53-49 win.
 
The victory marked the first time since the 2008-09 season the Yellow Jackets (1-3, 1-0) have won their PAC opener. It also snapped a 10-game losing streak that stretched back to the end of the 2016-17 campaign.
 
"I thought that our effort on both ends of the floor was really good," said Waynesburg head coach Mark Christner. "We have a ton of respect for Grove City. They're difficult to play against and difficult to prepare for. We had a great crowd and we made one more play."
 
That deciding play came with 31 seconds left in the contest and the scored tied at 49-49. After freshman forward Ben Vitovich grabbed a key defensive rebound, the ball found its way into the hands of senior wing Jon Knab, who knocked down a jumper near the free throw line to put the home team ahead 51-49.
 
Grove City (3-2, 0-2) took the ensuing inbound play and fired off a three-pointer 14 seconds later that missed the mark. The visiting team collected an offensive rebound to keep its hopes for victory alive.
 
Following a Wolverine timeout, senior wing Kendall Paige forced a steal and drew a foul with five seconds left in the contest. Paige sealed the victory by calmly converting the game's final two foul shots that brought about the final score.
 
"I thought our guys bought in defensively and we got the stops down the stretch," Christner said. "We challenged our guys to get better on that end. I give a ton of credit to them for what they did tonight."
 
The nip-and-tuck contest featured 12 ties and seven lead changes before Waynesburg finally secured the win. Many of the major statistical categories reflected the tightness of the game, including field goal shooting percentage, free throw shooting percentage, rebounds and turnovers.
 
Knab's game-deciding basket capped a 14-point, eight-rebound night for the veteran standout. Freshman guard Matt Popeck tied Knab for the team lead with 14 points of his own. Senior forward Marcus Wallace chipped in nine points and four rebounds to the winning effort.
 
Waynesburg won't have long to celebrate the win as they prepare for a road conference showdown with perennial PAC powerhouse Saint Vincent on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.