WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Feb. 7) -- The Waynesburg University men's basketball team, behind a commanding defensive performance, topped Grove City College 61-43 in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) meeting Wednesday night at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse.

Antone Baker (Maple Heights, Ohio / Maple Heights) picked up where he left off Saturday as he notched the Yellow Jackets' (12-10, 9-8) first 6 points of the night. A Wolverines (11-11, 7-10) 3-pointer 3:38 into the game cut Waynesburg's lead to 6-5. The Jackets then closed the final 16:22 of the half on a 25-9 run to lead 31-14 at the break.

The Orange and Black's defense limited the Wolverines to a 6 for 26 (23.1%) first-half shooting clip. The home side went 12-of-27 (44.4%) from the field in the opening 20 minutes. 

Baker notched more points in the opening half (16) than the Wolverines did as a team (14). The senior standout finished the night with a game-best 22 points and 13 rebounds in route to his team-leading eighth double-double of the season. Baker added three blocks to contribute to his PAC-leading 2.1 blocks per game figure.

The Jackets extended their 25-9 run into a 33-9 spurt as they scored the first 8 points of the second half to grow their lead to 39-14, their largest of the night, on a Baker dunk with 16:17 left to play.

Grove City cut the Yellow Jackets' lead to 13 (52-39) with 4:09 left to play, but a mini 4-0 Jaylen Davis (Cleveland Heights, Ohio / Cleveland Heights) run sealed the deal for Waynesburg. Davis posted a game-high 15 rebounds to go with 6 points in the win. 

The Jackets finished the night 23-of-55 from the field (41.8%) while the Wolverines went 17 for 58 (29.3%). Grove City's 43 points was the fewest the Yellow Jackets have allowed since January 26, 2022, a 60-43 win over St Vincent. 

Bryson Wilt (Oakland, Md. / Southern Garrett) and Jansen Knotts (Ridgeley, W.Va. / Frankfort) tied for the game-high in assists (3). Wilt scored 8 points and had a game-leading two steals. Knotts contributed 7 points and three boards.

Korey Mitchum (McHenry, Md. / Southern Garrett) added 8 points off the bench, and Ryan Felberg (Twinsburg, Ohio / Twinsburg) notched 6 points, two assists and two rebounds in reserve.

Waynesburg holds a 1.5 game lead over Westminster for the number-four spot in the conference standings. The top six teams will qualify for the PAC Tournament with the top two seeds receiving first-round byes. Seeds three and four will host first-round matchups.

The Yellow Jackets return to action Saturday when they travel to Chatham for a 2 p.m. PAC clash.