NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. (Jan. 6) – The Waynesburg University men's basketball team took its six-game winning streak on the road to Westminster for a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) showdown. After a strong start to the contest for the Yellow Jackets, the host Titans roared back in the second half en route to a 91-73 victory for the Blue and White.
 
The red-hot Jackets (7-6, 3-3) shot roughly 47 points in the first half and knocked down six-of-15 three-point attempts to build a 40-30 halftime lead. Waynesburg kept the pressure on Westminster (10-2, 4-1) with a 6-2 start to the second period.
 
A layup by senior wing Kendall Paige put the Jackets up 46-32, and they maintained double-digit advantages through the first six minutes of the half. After junior Nate Gearhart canned a three-pointer to make the score 54-44, the Titans began an explosive end to the game that led to their victory.
 
An 11-0 run by the home team gave it a 55-54 edge with 12:!4 showing on the game clock. A layup by Gearhart followed a three-pointer from senior wing Jon Knab that gave the Jackets the lead back at 59-55. However, Westminster's offense produced another 11-0 surge, this one moving it ahead 66-59 with 9:19 remaining in the contest.
 
Waynesburg never led for the remainder of the contest and the final score wound up being the Titan's largest lead of the evening.
 
"This was a tough one for us today," said Waynesburg University head coach Mark Christner. "The rebounding and transition defense in the last eight minutes cost us dearly. We did some really good things over the first 30 minutes of the game, however."
 
Knab continued a torrid scoring stretch that saw him put up 22 points on seven-of-13 shooting from the field. Knab was successful on five-of-eight tries from three-point range. He has scored at least 21 points in four of his last six games.
 
Freshman guard Matt Popeck added 15 points on the night. Gearhart and Paige chipped in eight and seven points, respectively. Paige also pulled down a team-best seven rebounds.
 
Waynesburg faces another of the PAC's top teams on Wednesday, Jan. 10, when they host Thomas More. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.