BEAVER FALLS, Pa. (Dec. 8) – The Waynesburg University men's basketball team locked horns with Geneva for an intense Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) showdown on Saturday night. The Yellow Jackets battled back from a six-point halftime deficit, but couldn't close the deal, as the Golden Tornadoes picked up the 83-75 win.
 
Throughout the entirety of the first half, neither team led by more than six points. By the time the two teams broke for halftime, they had traded multiple leads and battled through several ties. Geneva (4-4, 2-1) held a 34-28 edge by the time the second half tipped off.
 
Six quick points from the home team allowed it to pull ahead by a 40-28 score. The Jackets (3-6, 2-2) countered with a 6-2 run that cut the deficit down to eight at 42-34.
 
Waynesburg kept nipping at the heals of its hosts and with just over five minutes left in the contest, junior guard Frank Bozicevic (Monroeville, Pa. / Gateway) tallied a quick five points on a pair of field goals to pull the Jackets to within a single basket at 73-70.
 
Another Bozicevic field goal made the score 73-72 with 4:10 showing on the scoreboard. With 2:15 remaining in the contest, the Jackets were once again down by a single basket (77-75). Unfortunately, Geneva had one last 6-0 surge left in the tank to lock down the eight-point triumph.
 
"League road games are tough," said Waynesburg head coach Mark Christner. "Our rebounding hurt us tonight, but our fight and resolve throughout the course of the game helped give us a shot at victory. We are looking forward to a week of healing and academic success as we go through finals."
 
Despite playing without leading scorer Matt Popeck (Washington, Pa. / Washington) for a second-straight game, the Jackets still put together a solid offensive outing thanks in large part to the duo of Bozicevic and junior wing Brennan Smith (New Cumberland, W.Va. / Oak Glen).
 
Bozicevic went off for a game-high 23 points on nine-of-18 shooting from the floor. He added five rebounds, two assists and three steals in the loss. Smith chipped in 15 points, three boards, four assists and two steals on the night.
 
Senior wing Nate Gearhart (Huntingdon, Pa. / Huntingdon) added 12 points over 20 minutes off the bench.
 
The Jackets suffered the loss despite connecting on nine three-pointers and holding Geneva to just two makes from long range. The GTs countered Waynesburg's advantage from downtown by outrebounding the Jackets by a 52-32 margin.
 
Waynesburg returns to competition on Tuesday with a non-PAC road trip to Penn State Behrend. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.