WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Dec. 10) – The Waynesburg University men's basketball team hosted Geneva on Saturday for Alumni Day. Though the first half was a struggle for the Yellow Jackets, the home team made the former Jackets in attendance proud with a furious rally in the second half. Unfortunately, the host squad couldn't complete the miracle comeback, as the Golden Tornadoes left town with a 71-55 win.
 
Things started well for Waynesburg (3-6, 1-5), which opened the game by scoring six of the contest's first nine points. After Geneva (8-1, 5-1) tied the score at 6-6, the Jackets briefly regained the advantage on a field goal by junior Jake Scheidt (Saxonburg, Pa. / Knoch). Unfortunately, this was the last lead Waynesburg held on the evening, as the Golden Tornadoes exploded for a 28-7 run that put them ahead 34-15 with just under two minutes remaining in the first half.
 
The GT's tallied four of the half's final five points to take a 38-16 score into halftime.
 
The first six minutes of the second period played out like a continuation of the first 20, with Geneva growing its lead to 50-20. Though it was faced with a daunting comeback effort, Waynesburg was finally able to get its offense rolling, as it went on a 9-0 run to cut its deficit to 50-29 with 10:37 showing on the scoreboard.
 
The Orange and Black continued to chip away at the seemingly insurmountable deficit until a Scheidt field goal pulled the home team to within 11 points (63-52) with three minutes left to play. Despite its best efforts, Waynesburg was unable to pull any closer to what would have been a legendary comeback, as Geneva remained atop the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC).
 
Graduate student guard Matt Popeck (Washington, Pa. / Washington) led the Waynesburg offense with a team-high 24 points that included a seven-for-eight showing at the foul line. Junior Antone Baker (Maple Heights, Ohio / Maple Heights) continued his recent string of strong performers by posting a double-double on 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Baker shot four-of-eight from the floor and five-of-seven from the charity stripe. He also showed off his defensive prowess with a contest-best three blocks.
 
Scheidt chipped in 10 points on the day.
 
Waynesburg did an excellent job of protecting the basketball and committed just five turnovers.
 
The Jackets return to non-conference play on Tuesday, Dec. 13, when they welcome Hiram to the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.