WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Feb. 6) –Despite holding on to a lead late into the first half, the Waynesburg University men's basketball team fell 81-52 to visiting Westminster in the Yellow Jackets' first game of the season. The contest marked the first athletic event held at Waynesburg University since March 10, 2020.
 
After a back-and-forth first 10 minutes of the game, Waynesburg (0-1, 0-1) found itself with a 17-13 advantage over the Titans (3-0, 3-0). Westminster grabbed a 21-19 edge with just under seven minutes remaining in the first half and didn't trail for the remainder of the contest. The Titans held the Yellow Jackets to just six points over the final 11 minutes of the opening half and built up a 36-23 lead by the time the two teams broke for their respective locker rooms.  
 
Waynesburg was unable to find its offensive rhythm early in the second half, while Westminster pulled away with a 15-4 run that brought the score to 51-27 with 14:10 remaining in the game. The final 14 minutes-plus were fairly evenly played and saw both teams go deep into their respective benches to allow younger players to log valuable varsity minutes.
 
Junior forward Isaiah Alonzo (Chandler, Ariz./Tri-City Christian Academy) led all scorers with 20 points on seven-of-16 shooting from the field. The returning All-PAC second-team performer added a team-high six rebounds.
 
Sophomore guard Ryan Felberg (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg) paced the Yellow Jackets in assists with five, while adding five points and three rebounds. Junior guard Matt Popeck (Washington, Pa./Washington) came off the bench to log his first minutes since playing in the second game of last season. He lost the remainder of the campaign to injury. The two-time All-PAC performer managed five points, four rebounds and a steal in 21 minutes of action.
 
From a team perspective, Westminster out-rebounded the Yellow Jackets 50-30, and Waynesburg shot 30.5 percent from the field (18-59) compared to Westminster's 41.7 percent (30-72).
 
Despite the loss, second-year Waynesburg head coach Tim Fusina was still able to glean some positives from the day. He was also keenly aware of the challenges facing a team that features just six returners from last year along with 15 newcomers. There are no seniors on the 21-man roster.
 
"We are very young and our youth showed. It's not an excuse, but the reality of our situation," Fusina said. "At times we had four freshmen and a sophomore on the floor. While today was not how we wanted to start our season, the best days for our program are ahead. I am excited about our talent and I believe we will improve greatly as the year moves on. I thought our defensive positioning was very good. We need to do a better job rebounding and offensively, we need to be more patient and work for better shots."
 
The Yellow Jackets return in action Monday, Feb. 8, when they travel to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, for a game against Geneva. Start time is set for 7 p.m.