WASHINGTON, Pa. (Feb. 14) – It was a frustrating Wednesday night for the Waynesburg University men's basketball team, which was looking to avenge a loss earlier this season to Washington & Jefferson. The Yellow Jackets had an opportunity to pull out a late victory, but a turnover that led to a late layup sealed a 66-62 win for the Presidents.
 
After freshman forward Ben Vitovich dropped in the first two points of the game on a layup, W&J (5-19, 4-13) responded with five-straight to take the early lead. Waynesburg (9-15, 5-12) spent the next 10 minutes trying to jump back ahead of its conference rivals.
 
Trailing 13-10, the Jackets embarked on a 12-2 run that gave them a seven-point lead with 8:30 left to play until halftime. Sophomore guard Frank Bozicevic punctuated the surge with a three-pointer, which was his second basket of the run.
 
Five minutes later, freshman guard Matt Popeck knocked a three-pointer of his own to push the Orange and Black out to a 31-20 advantage, which tied for the game's largest lead. Waynesburg kept ahead of the host squad throughout the remainder of the half and went into the break holding a 33-29 edge.
 
That lead didn't last long once play resumed as W&J scored the first five points of the second period and move ahead 34-33. Another Popeck trey gave the lead back to the visitors and set the tone for a back-and-forth final 20 minutes.
 
The night was ultimately decided during the final 17 seconds of action. With his team trailing 63-60, senior wing Jon Knab scored the last two of his game-high 23 points to pull his team within a point of the lead.
 
After a President free throw grew their advantage to 64-62, the Jackets were able to set up for a game-tying or game-winning basket with roughly 15 seconds showing on the clock. Junior Nate Gearhart went for the victory with a three-pointer that didn't find the mark, but Knab was able to snare the offensive rebound. Unfortunately, W&J forced a game-clinching turnover before sealing the deal just before the buzzer.
 
"Games like this are hard to take. They challenge the innards of a team for sure," said Waynesburg head coach Mark Christner. "We did a great job in the three-minute game to give us a shot. We had a great one and it just didn't go in."
 
Along with Knab's big scoring night, Waynesburg got 12 points from Popeck, who went five-for-12 from the floor and dished out a team-high four assists.
 
Waynesburg edged out W&J 46-40 on the glass, but the Presidents had a major advantage when it came to scoring in the paint (40-18). The Jackets countered with nine made three-pointers and held the home team to a five-for-22 performance from beyond the arc.
 
Waynesburg wraps up its regular season on Saturday, Feb. 17, when it hosts Geneva for senior day. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.