WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Feb. 15) – The Waynesburg University men's basketball team hosted Franciscan on Wednesday for senior night. For a second-straight game, the Yellow Jackets led late and looked poised to pick up a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) win. Unfortunately, for a second-straight game, the Jackets couldn't seal the deal, this time falling 65-62 to the Barons.
 
Franciscan (7-17, 4-15) got off to a quick start thanks to a 7-1 game-opening run. Graduate student Matt Popeck (Washington, Pa. / Washington), who was one of two Jackets (5-18, 3-16) honored before tipoff, closed the gap with a three-pointer. That trey sparked a 9-0 run, all of which came from behind the arc. Junior Bryson Wilt (Oakland, Md. / Southern Garrett) tied the score at 7-7, before another Popeck make from long range put the host squad ahead 10-7.
 
The Barons stopped the Jacket surge with a pair of free throws that made the score 10-9. Waynesburg responded by scoring the next six points and building up a 16-9 advantage. Freshman Corey Easton (Buchanan, Va. / James River) got things going by knocking down two foul shots. Sophomore John Tastinger II (Otto, N.C. / Rabun Gap Nacoochee) completed the stretch with back-to-back field goals.
 
Momentum swung back into Franciscan's favor with an 18-7 run that made the score 27-23 with just over six minutes remaining in the first half. A 9-0 spurt by Waynesburg gave it the lead back at 32-27. Tastinger posted five points in that span, while junior Antone Baker (Maple Heights, Ohio / Maple Heights) and senior Ryan Felberg (Twinsburg, Ohio / Twinsburg), who was also honored as part of the senior night festivities, chipped in two points each.
 
Waynesburg maintained its lead throughout the remainder of the opening 20 minutes. Baker put a big exclamation point on the half with a steal that he turned into a breakaway dunk that brought about the halftime score of 39-34.
 
Speaking of slam dunks, sophomore Trevon Ridley (Murrieta, Calif. / Vista Murrieta) threw one down with 17:39 remaining in the game to give the Jackets a 48-39 lead, which was the largest for either team on the night. Waynesburg still led by nine (58-49) with just over nine minutes showing on the game clock.
 
Franciscan began turning things around with an 8-0 stretch that cut Waynesburg's lead to one at 58-57. The Barons tallied six of the game's next 10 points to finally pull ahead of the Orange and Black (63-62) with 2:22 remaining in the game.
 
The Jackets got off a pair of field goal attempts that were unsuccessful, before Franciscan connected on two free throws with 14 seconds showing on the clock. Waynesburg managed to let fly with a game-tying three-point attempt just before the buzzer, but it didn't find the mark, and the Barons celebrated the victory.
 
Baker just missed out on a ninth double-double this season after posting team highs in both points (19) and rebounds (nine). He also swiped away a game-high three steals and swatted two blocks.
 
In his final game in front of his home crowd, Popeck poured in 16 points, 12 of which came from four made three pointers. Tastinger chipped in nine points on an efficient four-of-six shooting effort over 17 minutes off the bench.
 
Waynesburg wraps up the 2022-23 season on Saturday with a trip to Allegheny. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.