WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Jan. 6) – The Waynesburg University men's basketball team welcomed Chatham to the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse on Saturday for a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) showdown. The Yellow Jackets tried to dig out of a nine-point halftime hole, but came a handful of points shy in a 76-71 setback against the Cougars.
 
Chatham (9-5, 7-2) set the tone for the game by hitting a 3-pointer on its first possession of the contest. The Cougars connected on nine treys, while the Jackets (7-7, 4-5) converted just two from long range. That disparity from beyond the arc wound up being the primary factor in Chatham's most recent victory.
 
The visitors led from start to finish and built leads as large as 11 points (19-8 in the first 20 minutes). However, the Jackets showed their mettle and countered Chatham's long-range game by pounding the paint with junior forward Jaylen Davis (Cleveland Heights, Ohio / Cleveland Heights), senior forward Antone Baker (Maple Heights, Ohio / Maple Heights) and senior forward Jansen Knotts (Ridgeley, W.Va. / Frankfort).
 
Waynesburg whittled the deficit down to two points at 26-24 with just under five minutes remaining in the half. Unfortunately, a 13-6 half-ending run by the visitors allowed them to head to the locker room with a 39-30 advantage.
 
The Jacket offense found its footing during the final 20 minutes of competition and scored 41 points to Chatham's 37. Unfortunately, the Orange and Black was only able to close the gap to as few as four points on two different occasions, including with nine seconds showing on the clock.
 
Baker did everything he could to drive his team to victory by pouring in a game-high 23 points on eight-of-13 shooting from the floor and connecting on seven-of-12 from the foul line. He also yanked down a squad-best eight rebounds and led all participants with four blocks.
 
Davis came off the bench and connected on four-of-seven from the floor, while also converting all six of his foul shots en route to a 14-point performance. He added seven boards and three blocks over 27 minutes of play.
 
Knotts connected on five-of-10 from the field, including his team's only two makes from 3-point range, for 12 points, while junior Jordan McLoyd (Johnson City, Tenn. / Science Hill) tallied 10 points, eight of which came from a flawless showing at the charity stripe.
 
Waynesburg will get a week to rest and prepare for the start of the spring semester before traveling to Thiel on Saturday, Jan. 13. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.