BETHANY, W.Va. (Feb. 16) – The Waynesburg University men's basketball team concluded its regular season schedule Saturday night when it traveled to Bethany for a  Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) matchup against the Bison. The Yellow Jackets came up just short of victory as they fell 74-72.
 
Waynesburg (8-17, 7-9) had the three ball working early, as four of them made up 12 points in a 14-8 game-opening run. Bethany responded by scoring the next eight points to build a 16-14 edge. The two teams continued to exchange leads and ties throughout the opening 20 minutes of play. By the time the buzzer sounded for halftime, Waynesburg found itself ahead 42-37.
 
The Jacket advantage grew to seven thanks to junior wing Brennan Smith (New Cumberland, W.Va. / Oak Glen) dropping in a layup to open the second half. Waynesburg continued to hold the lead throughout the first eight-plus minutes of the period, before Bethany (5-19, 4-11) put together an 8-0 surge that erased a four-point deficit and gave it a 57-53 edge with 10:34 left in the game.
 
Waynesburg regained the lead at 65-64 thanks to a layup by senior wing Jake Dougherty (New Bethlehem, Pa. / Redbank Valley) with 4:32 showing on the clock. Unfortunately, that was the last time the Jackets led for the contest, as Bethany scored on the ensuing possession and proceeded to keep the Orange and Black at bay.
 
The Jackets suffered the loss despite having the game's leading scorer in Smith, who poured in 26 points on nine-of-18 shooting. He knocked down three-of-five three pointers and five-of-six free throws. Smith also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
 
Dougherty looked great in a rare start by going six-for-10 from the floor and four-of-seven from three-point range during a 16-point day.
 
With the regular season complete, Waynesburg turns its attention to the PAC tournament. The sixth-seeded Jackets travel to third-seeded Westminster on Tuesday for a quarterfinal showdown. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.