WASHINGTON, Pa. (Jan.24) -- The Waynesburg University men's basketball team dropped an 88-75 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) matchup with Washington & Jefferson College on Wednesday night at the Salvitti Family Gymnasium.

The Yellow Jackets (9-9, 6-7) came out of the gates strong, leading 10-3 at the 17:45 mark of the opening half. The Jackets held the lead for the first 7:43 of the game before the Presidents (5-13, 4-9) tied the game at 14. 

Washington & Jefferson went on to outscore Waynesburg 34-15 for the remainder of the first half to take a 48-29 lead into the break. The visitors had 12 turnovers over that 12:10 stretch. 

The Jackets trailed by as many as 20 points (53-33) in the second half, but slowly chipped away at the Presidents' lead. The Orange and Black's valiant comeback shrinked the home teams lead to 6 (69-63) after a pair of PJ Suggs (Twinsburg, Ohio / Twinsburg) free throws at the 7:42 mark. 

Unfortunately, 69-63 was as close as the Jackets came in the second half as W&J fended off Waynesburg's hopes of a third straight come-from-behind win and sealed the 88-75 final score.

Fouls and free throws were the theme of Wednesday nights contest as the two sides combined for 63 fouls and 80 free-throw attempts. The Presidents ended the night 39-of-52 at the line while the Jackets were 19-of-28 from the charity stripe.

Antone Baker (Maple Heights, Ohio / Maple Heights) posted his third straight 20-point game and eight on the season in the loss. Baker had a game best 24 points on 11-of-15 from the field and 2-of-4 at the line to go with six rebounds.

Jaylen Davis (Cleveland Heights, Ohio / Cleveland Heights) notched his fifth double-double on the year and third in as many games for the Jackets with his 16-point, 12-rebound showing. Davis had a near perfect shooting night as he was 5-of-5 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line.

Jordan McLoyd (Johnson City, Tenn. / Science Hill) added 18 points, 8 of which came at the line, and seven rebounds in the defeat.

The Yellow Jackets return to action Saturday, Jan. 27, when they travel to Latrobe, Pa., for a 6 p.m. matchup with conference-leading St. Vincent.