WASHINGTON, Pa. (Feb. 24) – Two days ago, the Waynesburg University men's basketball team put together a gutsy performance to upset Geneva in the quarterfinal round of the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) tournament. If the Yellow Jackets were going to advance to their first PAC title game since 2015, they would need to dig even deeper to take down top-seeded Washington & Jefferson on its home court.
 
For a second-straight game, a Waynesburg team playing without leading scorer Matt Popeck (Washington, Pa. / Washington) gave its opponent all it could handle over 40 grueling minutes of physical basketball. Unfortunately, the Yellow Jackets just didn't have enough to pull off arguably its biggest win in more than a decade, as the Presidents came back in the second half to pull out a 66-61 win.
 
Much like it did against Geneva, Waynesburg's (14-13) defense kept one of the league's most potent offenses well below its season average. W&J (23-4) entered the night averaging a conference-best 88.8 points per game. The Jackets held their hosts to their second-fewest points of the season. In fact, W&J's three lowest point totals of the year all came against the Jackets.
 
Waynesburg got out to a quick start thanks to a three pointer by sophomore guard Jake Scheidt (Saxonburg, Pa. / Knoch) followed by a two-point field goal from sophomore forward Jansen Knotts (Ridgeley, W.Va. / Frankfort). The Presidents answered by scoring the next nine points to take a 9-5 edge.
 
Five-straight points from Scheidt gave the Jackets the advantage back at 10-9, but again W&J answered to regain the lead. The back-and-forth flow continued until a 13-0 run by the Presidents turned a one-point edge for Waynesburg into a 27-15 President lead. The visitors whittled their deficit down to six, but the host squad regained the momentum and led 38-27 at the break.
 
The Jackets still trailed by 11 (43-32) just under four minutes into the second half, but started to turn the game around at that point. Waynesburg outscored the opposition 17-4 over a four-plus-minute span to move back ahead with a slim 49-47 advantage.
 
Six-straight points by the Presidents put them back in the driver's seat and they never trailed for the remainder of the game. However, Waynesburg didn't make it easy and was able to tie score at 53-53 with 8:30 showing on the game clock.
 
With 33 seconds left to play, the Jackets trailed by three following a pair of free throws by freshman guard John Tastinger (Otto, N.C. / Rabun Gap Nacoochee School). Unfortunately, W&J did just enough to keep Waynesburg at bay and advance to the championship game against second-seeded Chatham on Saturday.
 
Scheidt led a quartet of double-digit scorers for Waynesburg with a team-high 19 points and he did it in incredibly efficient fashion. He went six-for-nine from the floor and connected on an incredible five-of-six from three-point range. He also grabbed six rebounds, dished out two assists and swiped two steals.
 
Graduate student forward Nijon Kirkman (Cleveland, Ohio / John Hay) posted his second double-double in as many playoff games with 13 points and 10 rebounds, five of which were of the offensive variety. Knotts added 11 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, while Tastinger chipped in 11 points and five rebounds over 24 minutes off the bench.