WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Dec. 1) – Despite a sizeable halftime lead and a monster game from sophomore guard Matt Popeck (Washington, Pa. / Washington), the Waynesburg University men's basketball team suffered an 80-73 Presidents' Athletic Conference loss to Chatham on Saturday.
 
Popeck dominated a first half in which the Yellow Jackets (2-5, 1-1) built 44-31 lead at the break. The sophomore standout poured in 24 points over the first 20 minutes of play and was nearly unstoppable against the Cougar defense (4-2, 1-1).
 
Chatham emerged from its locker room to open the second period and immediately went to work on chipping into the Jacket advantage. The visitors rolled off a 12-0 run to slice its deficit down to one point at 44-43. Waynesburg stopped the bleeding when senior Nate Gearhart (Huntingdon, Pa. / Huntingdon) knocked a down a three pointer that made the score 47-43.
 
A Popeck trey with 8:09 remaining in the contest put the home team ahead 57-54. After that make, Chatham answered with 10-straight points that put the Cougars in control of the contest with 5:11 left to play in the game.
 
Popeck stopped the run with a jump shot, but five-straight points from the Cougars effectively put the game away at 69-59 with 2:17 remaining in the game. A three-pointer from senior Jake Dougherty (New Bethlehem, Pa. / Redbank Valley) pulled Waynesburg to within four points (74-70) with 23 seconds  left in the contest. However, Chatham was able to convert on six-straight foul shots to close out the victory.
 
"We've got to play with urgency for 40 minutes and figure out how to reset ourselves when things get tough," said Waynesburg head coach Mark Christner. "We have to learn from this game. This league is going to be crazy all season."
 
Popeck went 10-of-19 from the field and five-of-11 from three-point range on his way to a 34-point performance, which are the most scored in a game by a Yellow Jacket since Mike King poured in 34 in 2004.
 
Junior wing Brennan Smith (New Cumberland, W.Va. / Oak Glen) efficiently scored nine points on four-of-six shooting from the floor. Junior guard Frank Bozicevic (Monroeville, Pa. / Gateway) pulled down a team-high eight rebounds to go along with five points.
 
Sophomore center Ben Vitovich made his biggest impact on the defensive side of the floor with a game-high three blocks.
 
The game's result was ultimately decided at the free throw line, where Chatham connected on 29-of-37 of tries. Waynesburg was more accurate at the stripe, but made 13 of just 14 foul shots.
 
Chatham also held a 41-33 advantage in rebounding.
 
The loss was made all the more bitter considering the Jackets held the lead for 26:53 of play.
 
Waynesburg will try to bounce back on Wednesday, when it heads to Westminster for another PAC contest. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.