WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Feb. 13) – Two of the youngest men's basketball teams in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) met up at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse on Saturday. Saint Vincent traveled to Waynesburg for a conference showdown and left town with a 71-64 win.  
 
The combined rosters for Waynesburg (0-3, 0-3) and Saint Vincent (2-1, 2-1) feature just two seniors, both of whom are Bearcats, eight juniors, six sophomore and 23 freshmen. One of the Jackets' elder statesmen, junior forward Isaiah Alonzo (Chandler, Ariz. / Tri-City Christian Academy) paced the home team with 23 points on nine-of-18 shooting, five rebounds and three assists.
 
Cold shooting in the first half hindered the Orange and Black offense in the first half, as Saint Vincent built a 21-10 advantage with just under eight minutes remaining in the opening period. However, Waynesburg's offense finally started to find its rhythm and closed the first 20 minutes on an 17-7 run to pull within a point of the lead (28-27) by the time the two squads broke for their respective locker rooms. The Jackets briefly went ahead 27-25 on a pair of free throws from freshman Jansen Knotts (Ridgeley, W.Va. / Frankfort) with 40 seconds showing on the game clock. However, a bank-in trey by the Bearcats 18 seconds later gave them a one-point edge.
 
Waynesburg kept its positive momentum going into the second half. The home team used a 14-4 spurt over the first 5:21 to take its largest game at 41-32. With 11:16 remaining in the game, a three-pointer from sophomore guard Ryan Felberg (Twinsburg, Ohio / Twinsburg) re-established a nine-point Waynesburg advantage (48-39).
 
Unfortunately for the home team, Saint Vincent took command of the contest and embarked on a 17-0 game-clinching run that turned their nine-point deficit into an eight-point lead (56-48) with 5:40 left to play. To Waynesburg's credit, it never gave up the fight and outscored the opposition 16-15 over the remainder of the contest.

"The run they went on in the middle part of the second half hurt us," said Waynesburg head coach Tim Fusina. "We havve to be better defensively by keeping hte ball out of the paint and out of the post box."
 
Along with Alonzo's big scoring day, three other Jackets scored between 10 and 12 points in the loss. Felberg logged an even dozen, while Knotts chipped in 11 and a team-high six rebounds. Junior guard Matt Popeck (Washington, Pa. / Washington) flashed some of the scoring touch that made him a two-time all-PAC pick prior to last year's major injury by dropping in 10 points over 30 minutes off the bench.
 
Saint Vincent outrebounded the Jackets by a 42-32 margin. Waynesburg, on the other hand, took better control of the basketball. The host squad committed 12 turnovers, while forcing Saint Vincent into 18.

"At times we played really well, moved the ball and got good shots. Other times we did not," Fusina said. "We need to take the next step offensivevly and play together for a full 40 minutes."
 
Waynesburg is back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 17, when it makes a road trip to first-year PAC member Franciscan. Tipoff from Steubenville, Ohio, is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.