WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Feb. 19) – It looked like the Waynesburg University men's basketball team was going to have plenty to celebrate when it hosted Geneva for both teams' regular season finale on Saturday. The Yellow Jackets raced out to an 11-2 lead, but it was the Golden Tornadoes who left town with an 80-67 win.
 
Three of the day's four senior honorees combined to tally all 11 points of Waynesburg's (13-12, 9-9) game-opening run. Guard Matt Popeck (Washington, Pa. / Washington) scored the contest's first four points on back-to-back field goals, before Nijon Kirkman (Cleveland, Ohio / John Hay) logged four points of his own to make the score 8-2. Guard Steven Eng (Elon, N.C. / Oak Hill Academy) connected on a three pointer to give his team the nine-point lead.
 
Geneva slowly cut into the Jacket advantage, which grew to as big as 11 points (23-12) with10:43 remaining in the first half. However, Geneva (14-9, 12-5) used a 13-0 run to pick up its first lead of the night at 25-23. A Popeck three put the host squad back in the lead at 26-25 and set the tone for the remainder of the half as the two opponents made multiple lead changes over the remainder of the half.
 
With 1:49 left to play in the opening period, Geneva led 42-37. However, a pair of Popeck free throws combined with a basket from Kirkman made the halftime score 42-41 as the two teams broke for their respective locker rooms.
 
The Golden Tornadoes led for the first 7:30 of the second period, before back-to-back baskets by sophomore guard Bryson Wilt (Oakland, Md. / Southern Garrett) and Popeck gave the lead back to Waynesburg at 55-54.
 
Unfortunately, Geneva responded by scoring the next nine points to take a 63-55 lead that it never relinquished. Waynesburg pulled to within four points of tying the contest, but that was as close as they came to pulling out a win or at least sending the game to overtime.
 
Popeck saw his final home game end early after he left the contest with an injury in the second half. He logged 20 a team-high 20 points on eight-of-15 shooting on the floor.
 
Kirkman did what he could to keep Waynesburg alive for a win as he posted17 points and a contest-best eight rebounds.
 
The game was ultimately decided from beyond the three-point arc, where Geneva connected on 12-of-24 attempts. Waynesburg countered with four-of-13 successful tries from the long range. The GT's also enjoyed a sizable advantage at the foul line, where they converted 16-of-19 tries. The Jackets knocked down seven-of-11 free throws.
 
The Jackets now turn their attention to the postseason, where they will once again face off with Geneva. Fifth-seeded Waynesburg travels to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, to do battle with the fourth-seeded Golden Tornadoes on Tuesday, Feb. 22. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The two teams split a pair of regular season meetings this year.