BEAVER FALLS, Pa. (Jan. 4) – The 2019 portion of this year's season featured a brutal schedule and plenty of growing pains for a Waynesburg team led by first-year head coach Tim Fusina. On Saturday, it was revealed that all that hard work and battling against quality opponents had developed a tremendous resolve. That resolve materialized in a thrilling and memorable 76-72 comeback victory at Geneva.
 
The win was the first in Fusina's tenure at Waynesburg (1-12, 1-3) and likely won't be forgotten over his time on the Yellow Jacket bench. The Orange and Black was tied 31-31 with Geneva (5-7, 1-2) with just under four minutes remaining in the first half. However, the Golden Tornadoes exploded for a 16-2 run that ended the first 20 minutes of play that gave them a 47-33 lead heading into the locker room.
 
After taking the halftime break to adjust to the host squad, Waynesburg went to work in whittling down the sizeable deficit. The Jackets accelerated the process with a 10-0 run that pulled them to within four points of tying the game (51-47).
 
Geneva continued to hold the lead until there was 10:33 showing on the game clock. A field goal from sophomore Isaiah Alonzo (Chandler, Ariz. / Tri-City Christian Academy) gave the visitors a 57-56 lead. Freshman Briston Bennett (Mount Morris, Pa. / Trinity Christian) followed with a big three pointer with 10 minutes remaining in the contest that gave his team a little breathing room at 60-56.
 
The home team wasn't ready to give up, however, and with 44 seconds remaining in the contest, a jumper in the paint cut the Waynesburg lead to 72-71. Freshman Ryan Felberg (Twinsburg, Ohio / Twinsburg) responded with maybe the biggest shot of his young collegiate career by knocking down a three pointer 29 seconds later that sealed his team's first win of the year.
 
Felberg's game-clinching trey was his team-leading fourth of the day, which he made on just seven attempts. He finished six-of-nine from the floor overall for 16 points total.
 
Alonzo logged his third double-double of the season thanks to a game-high 19 points and 10 rebounds. He also blocked two shots and handed out a contest-best six assists.
 
Speaking of solid all-around games, senior guard frank Bozicevic (Monroeville, Pa. / Gateway) filled the stat sheet with 17 points, five assists and three rebounds. The veteran really shined on the defensive side of things with a game-high seven steals , which matched Geneva's team total in that department. Waynesburg tallied 16 steals on the day.
 
Senior forward Brennan Smith (New Cumberland, W.Va. / Oak Glen) chipped in 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals to the winning effort.
 
The Jackets will try to carry the momentum from Saturday's win into Saturday's home conference showdown with Washington & Jefferson. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.