WASHINGTON, Pa. (Jan., 7) - The Waynesburg University men's basketball team traveled north to Washington & Jefferson on Saturday for a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) showdown with the Presidents. The Yellow Jackets fell 88-71.

W&J (10-4, 7-2) opened the game on an 11-3 run and grew its lead to 15-5 after 5:33 of play. Waynesburg (4-9, 2-7) cut its deficit down to six points on multiple occassions during the opening 20 minutes of play, but the home team rebuilt a 43-29 lead by halftime. 

With 16:26 remaining in the game, the Jackets put a major scare into W&J. Trailing 50-35, the Jackets pieced together a 9-0 run to cut the President advantage to just six points. Junior Jansen Knotts (Ridgeley, W.Va. / Frankfort) got things started by scoring six-straight points. Graduate student Matt Popeck (Washington, Pa. / Washington) capped the surge with one of his five made three pointers.

W&J answered with five-straight points to slow Waynesburg's momentum, but the Jackets used  a pair of Knotts free throws to get their deficit back down to single digits at 64-55 with just over nine minutes left to play. A three pointer by Popeck with seven minutes showing on the scoreboard made the score 69-62, but, unfortunately, that was close as the visitors came to completing the comeback.

The Presidents used an 8-1 run to jump ahead 77-63 with just under five minutes remaining in the conference clash and went on to the win from that point. 
Waynesburg boasted the top three individual scorers in Saturday's game. Popeck led the way with 21 points, dished out four assists and swiped three steals. Knotts added 19 points on seven-of-11 shooting from the floor and a five-for-seven effort from the foul line. He also pulled down seven rebounds, recorded three steals and blocked two shots. 

Junior forward Antone Baker (Maple Heights, Ohio / Maple Heights) continued his hot play off the bench with 19 points over just 17 minutes of action. He shot seven-of-nine from the floor and connected on five-of-six tries from the charity stripe. 

Junior guard Bryson Wilt (Oakland, Md. / Southern Garrett) set game highs in both rebounds (eight) and assists (five). 

Waynesburg plays the first of four-straight home games on Wednesday, Jan. 11, when it hosts Chatham for another PAC matchup. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.