WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Nov. 8) – The Waynesburg University men's basketball team tipped off the 2023-24 season on Wednesday evening by welcoming McDaniel to the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse for a non-Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) matchup. After a closely played first half, the Yellow Jackets found its offensive rhythm over the final 20 minutes, while stifling the Green Terror's attack on their way to a 64-52 victory.
 
Both teams struggled to get things rolling, as McDaniel (0-1) slowly built a 9-2 lead after six minutes of play. With a slew of new faces joining the team's four returning starters, it took some time before Waynesburg (1-0) was able to get into a rhythm. Until they did, the host squad was able to slowly chip away at the early deficit.
 
Junior Korey Mitchum (McHenry, Md. / Southern Garrett) got things going in the right direction with his first basket as a Jacket after transferring prior to the season. Graduate student Ryan Felberg (Twinsburg, Ohio / Twinsburg) followed with a free throw before senior Antone Baker (Maple Heights, Ohio / Maple Heights) dropped in two more points to make the score 9-7.
 
McDaniel slowed the Waynesburg momentum with a basket of its own, before a 6-0 Jacket run that included dunks by Baker and first-year junior transfer P.J. Suggs (Twinsburg, Ohio / Twinsburg) gave the host squad its first lead of the day at 13-11 with 9:34 remaining in the first half. The rest of the opening period featured baskets and leads traded back and forth, before the Jackets took a 25-23 edge into the locker room.
 
Waynesburg never gave up the advantage over the entirety of the second half, as it shot 62.5% from the floor (15-of-24), and 75% from three-point range (3-of-4). McDaniel, on the other hand, was held to 11-of-30 from the floor (37%) and 2-for-6 from beyond the arc (33%.
 
Another new addition to Waynesburg's roster, junior transfer Jordan McLoyd (Johnson City, Tenn. / Science Hill), sparked the game-deciding half by scoring his team's first eight points of the period. McDaniel kept pace for a while, but a 9-0 run that started with 11:08 left to play and lasted for a little over four minutes allowed the victors to expand a 45-38 advantage into a 54-38 lead with just under seven minutes showing on the scoreboard.
 
The Yellow Jackets opened up leads as large as 18 points before setting in for the 12-point triumph.
 
Baker picked up right where he left off from a stellar junior campaign by pouring in a game-high 19 points on an impressive nine-of-10 shooting. He also pulled down a team-best eight rebounds. Thanks in large part to his big second half, McLoyd finished second on his new team with 16 points. Suggs reached double digits in his team debut with 10.
 
Waynesburg returns to action with its first road game of the new season on Friday, Nov. 10. The Jackets will face Eastern University in the first round of the Bill Sudeck Holiday Tournament, which is being hosted by Case Western Reserve. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.