WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Feb. 17) -- The Waynesburg University men's basketball team downed Thiel College 69-58 Saturday afternoon on senior day in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) tilt at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse. 

The Yellow Jackets (14-11, 11-9) built an 18-11 lead at the 9:21 mark of the opening half on a Jaylen Davis (Cleveland Heights, Ohio / Cleveland Heights) layup. The Tomcats (8-17, 7-12) used a 7-3 spurt to trim the deficit to 21-18 with 4:57 left in the opening 20 minutes. Bryson Wilt (Oakland, Md. / Southern Garrett) connected on a mid-range jumper with 40 seconds left in the half to give the Orange and Black a 31-24 edge. Thiel scored the final 3 points of the half to trail 31-27 at the break.

Waynesburg used a 9-0 run to turn a 41-34 lead at the 12:46 mark into a 50-34 advantage with 10:16 left in the game on an Antone Baker (Maple Heights, Ohio / Maple Heights) jumper. Over that stretch, Baker had 4 points, Jansen Knotts (Ridgeley, W.Va. / Frankfort) had 3 and Davis had 2 on a thunderous put back slam. 

The Jackets held a double-digit lead for all but 6 seconds the rest of the game and kept the Tomcats away from striking distance to seal the 69-58 win. 

Baker posted his team-leading ninth double-double of the year with a 20-point, 12-rebound showing. His marks in points, rebounds and blocks (2) were all game highs.

Davis added 18 points and eight rebounds on 7-of-10 from the field and 4-of-6 at the free-throw line. Wilt finished in double-figures with 10 points on 4-of-6 to go with six rebounds.

Korey Mitchum (McHenry, Md. / Southern Garrett) added 7 points, four rebounds and a pair of assists coming off the bench. Knotts finished with 3 points and four boards in the win. Jordan McLoyd (Johnson City, Tenn. / Science Hill) had a game-leading three assists and 5 points.

Before the game, the Yellow Jackets honored Baker, Ryan Felberg (Twinsburg, Ohio / Twinsburg), Knotts, Jake Scheidt (Saxonburg, Pa. / Knoch) and Wilt with a senior day ceremony to recognize their contributions to Waynesburg basketball.

The Jackets return to action next Tuesday when they host Grove City College in the quarterfinals of the PAC Tournament at 7 p.m.