BETHANY, W.Va. (Nov. 18) – The Waynesburg University men's basketball team opened Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play with a road trip to Bethany on Saturday. The Yellow Jackets built off a strong finish to the first half to take down the Bison 89-81.
The victory gave Waynesburg (3-1, 1-0) its best four-game span to open a season since going 3-1 to start the 2013-14 campaign. A big reason for the victory was the play of senior forward
Antone Baker (Maple Heights, Ohio / Maple Heights), who poured in a game-high 28 points on 13-of-19 shooting. He completed his first double-double of the season by yanking down a contest-best 10 rebounds, four of which were of the offensive variety. He added three blocks and three steals on the defensive side of ball.
Baker got right to work as Waynesburg jumped out to a 9-0 lead after 2:37 of action. The explosive veteran laid in the first two points of the game and followed that up with a steal that turned into a breakaway slam dunk. Junior P.J. Suggs (Twinsburg, Ohio / Twinsburg) added his first field goal of the day before senior
Bryson Wilt (Oakland, Md. / Southern Garrett) knocked down his team's first three pointer of the contest to end the surge.
Bethany (2-3, 1-1) responded to the visiting team's challenge by scoring 23 of the game's next 32 points to build a 23-18 advantage with 11:21 left to play in the first half. The host squad continued to lead until a three pointer by junior guard
Jordan McLoyd (Johnson City, Tenn. / Science Hill) tied things up a 31-31 with 6:38 remaining until halftime.
That trey turned out to be the opening of a 12-0 Waynesburg run that put the Orange and Black back in the driver's seat with a 40-31 lead. Bethany briefly broke up the Jacket momentum, but the visitors closed the first period with layup by Suggs and another three from Wilt.
When the two teams retreated to their respective locker rooms, Waynesburg had built a 45-33 lead that they didn't relinquish for the remainder of the day. The Yellow Jackets led by as many as 18 over the final 20 minutes of competition, before a late Bison rally brought about the final score.
Baker was joined by four of his teammates as double-digit scorers. Suggs shot an efficient seven-for-11 from the floor on his way to 16 points, while McLoyd connect on four of his eight field goal attempts for 12 points. Wilt and junior
Jaylen Davis (Cleveland Heights, Ohio / Cleveland Heights) each added 10 points to the winning effort.
Waynesburg shot 58% from the floor on the afternoon (36-of-62).
The Jackets are back in action on Tuesday, Nov. 21, when they travel to Westminster for a PAC clash with the Titans. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
