WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Dec. 30) – The Yellow Jackets combined a solid defensive effort with a balanced offensive attack to give visiting Penn State Behrend all it could handle on Monday's non-Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) matchup. Unfortunately, the Lions were able to close out a tightly played contest to wrap up a 62-57 win.
The Jackets (0-12) were paced offensively by the senior duo of guard
Frank Bozicevic (Monroeville, Pa. / Gateway) and forward
Brennan Smith (New Cumberland, W.Va. / Oak Glen), who tied for the team lead with 13 points. Senior guard
Sam Heeter (New Bethlehem, Pa. / Redbank Valley) chipped in 12 points of his own on the night.
Sophomore forward
Isaiah Alonzo (Chandler, Arizona / Tri-City Christian Academy) pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with seven points scored. Freshman guard
Ryan Felberg (Twinsburg, Ohio / Twinsburg) posted an eight-point night of his own and dished out a team-best three assists.
Waynesburg gave up a 12-2 run to Behrend (7-3) and never led throughout the opening period. However, the Jackets showed their mettle by whittling their deficit down to just two points (30-28) by the time the two teams broke for halftime.
A layup by Felberg to open the second half tied the score at 30-30, but Behrend answered right back with six-straight points to regain its advantage. Waynesburg was unable to tie the game again, but a Bozicevic three pointer with seven seconds left in the game pulled the home team to within three points at 60-57. Unfortunately, the Lions made a pair of free throws to extend their advantage to a game-ending five points.
Not surprisingly, most of the game's statistics reflected a closely contested contest. However, Waynesburg out-rebounded Behrend by a 37-30 margin. The Lions made two more three pointers (eight to six), which wound up being the final margin of victory.
The Jackets are off for the rest of 2019. They will return to the court and to Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play on Saturday, Jan. 4, with a road trip to Geneva. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
