NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. (Jan. 18) – The Waynesburg University men's basketball team traveled to Westminster for a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game against the Titans. The Yellow Jackets suffered through one of their roughest first halves of the season and were unable to recover during a 71-51 loss.
 
Waynesburg's (8-5, 4-2) trademark stingy defense struggled as Westminster (9-5, 6-2) build a 46-21 halftime lead. The Titans shot 15-of-33 from the floor, nine-of-14 from three-point range and seven-of-12 from the foul line. The Jackets, meanwhile, connected on just 10-of-35 attempts from the field, went one-for-seven from three-point range and missed both of their foul shots.
 
Waynesburg gathered itself in period number two and outscored the host squad 30-25 over the final 20 minutes of play. The biggest highlight of the night was the play of sophomore Jansen Knotts (Ridgeley, W.Va. / Frankfort) during the second half. He tallied 14 of his game-high 18 points in the period on five-of-eight shooting from the floor. He also knocked down all three of three-point attempts.
 
Knotts added six rebounds and three assists over a team-high 38 minutes on the floor. Graduate student forward Nijon Kirkman (Cleveland, Ohio / John Hay) just missed out on a team-high seventh double-double after logging nine points and a squad-best 10 rebounds. Senior guard Matt Popeck (Washington, Pa. / Washington) and sophomore guard Bryson Wilt (Oakland, Md. / Southern Garrett) added nine points each on the evening. For Popeck, it was his first game this season that didn't result in him scoring at least 10 points. Wilt posted game highs in both steals (four) and assists (four).
 
The Jackets will look to bounce back from a rough night's work on Thursday, Jan. 20, when they travel to Bethany. Tipoff against the Bison is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.