GREENVILLE, Pa. (March 6) – The Waynesburg University men's basketball traveled to Thiel to try and grab its fourth win in five games Saturday afternoon. The Yellow Jackets battled back from multiple deficits to keep it a one-score game part-way into the second half. Ultimately the Tomcats pulled away for a 73-62 win.
 
Junior guard Matt Popeck (Washington, Pa. / Washington) had his most productive game of the season while making his first start of the year. The two-time All-PAC performer dropped a game-high 25 points on nine-of-22 shooting from the field. He also tied for the team lead in both rebounds (six) and steals (two).
 
Thiel (3-4, 3-4) jumped out to a 29-12 lead after the first 11:38 of play, which wound up being its largest lead of the day. However, Waynesburg (3-5, 3-5) got hot and went on a 17-6 run over the remainder of the half to cut that deficit to seven (36-29) heading into the locker room.
 
The Yellow Jackets continued to inch back into the contest during the early part of the second half, opening the final 20 minutes with a 9-5 run capped off by layup by junior forward Zach Ford (Houston, Pa. / Chartiers-Houston). That field goal made the score 41-38 in favor of Thiel with 16:16 to go in regulation.
 
That was as close as the Yellow Jackets got, however, as the Tomcats started to pull away with a 13-2 run of their own immediately following Ford's basket. Over the remainder of the contest, Waynesburg got as close as within seven points of tying the score, but it continued to have an answer for every Waynesburg basket as the game wound to its conclusion.
 
Junior guard Jake Benhart (Indiana, Pa. / Indiana) finished with a personal season-high 16 points and five rebounds over 26 minutes of action off the bench. Sophomore guard Briston Bennett (Mt. Morris, Pa. / Trinity Christian) tied his career high with six rebounds in the game. Freshman guard Bryson Wilt (Oakland, Md. / Southern Garrett) paced the team in assists with three, tied for the team-high in steals with two and added seven points.
 
As a team, Waynesburg shot 40 percent from the field (20-50) and 31.3 percent from three-point range (5-16). The Yellow Jackets also connected on 17-20 free throw attempts in the contest.
 
Waynesburg will be back in action for its final game of the regular season Wednesday, March 10, against Grove City at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse. Opening tip is set for 7 p.m.