BEAVER FALLS, Pa. (Feb. 4) – The Waynesburg University men's basketball team traveled north to Geneva to face off with the Golden Tornadoes in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) contest. The Yellow Jackets battled over 40 minutes of action, but fell by the final score of 77-62.
 
Geneva (14-7, 11-5) jumped out to a 15-6 lead after 7:48 of play. Waynesburg (5-15, 3-13) used an 11-5 run of its own to pull to within a single basket of tying the score at 20-17. Junior Jansen Knotts (Ridgeley, W.Va. / Frankfort) keyed the surge with six points.
 
Geneva bounced back with six-straight to take a 26-17 advantage with 5:26 remaining in the first half. Momentum swung back to the visitors' side thanks to a 6-0 run that featured four points from junior Antone Baker (Maple Heights, Ohio / Maple Heights). With 3:49 remaining in the opening period, the Jackets trailed by just a single field goal (26-23).
 
Geneva ended the half by scoring 10 of the next 15 points. When the two teams broke for their respective locker rooms, the GT's held a 36-28 advantage.
 
Waynesburg refused to give up the fight as the second half got underway. The Orange and Black kept fighting and after five minutes of the period had expired, the Jackets trailed by just three (46-43) yet again. Unfortunately, that's as close as Waynesburg came to completing its comeback.
 
The home team pieced together several productive offensive stretches to build leads as large as 21 points over the final 10 minutes of play.
 
Though it didn't lead to a victory, Baker logged an impressive performance that included game highs in points and rebounds. The junior standout went for 24 points on nine-of-16 shooting from the floor and a six-for-eight effort from the foul line. He also grabbed eight rebounds, five of which were on the offensive side of the glass. Defensively, Baker swatted a contest-best three blocks.
 
Knotts chipped in 12 points on the day, while junior Bryson Wilt (Oakland, Md. / Southern Garrett) and sophomore Treyvon Ridley (Murrieta, Calif. / Vista Murrietta) tallied nine and eight points, respectively.
 
Waynesburg is back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 8, when it travels to Grove City for a road PAC contest. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.