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The Saint Vincent men's basketball team advanced to the Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship with an 89-78 victory over Waynesburg University.  The Bearcats, the reigning PAC Champions, will travel to Thomas More for a rematch of last year's title game.
 
After an early defensive battle, Waynesburg took a 9-7 lead on a three-pointer by Thomas Ellis at the 13:30 mark.  Isaac Turner then responded with an underhanded layup, drawing a foul in the process.  His conventional three-point play started a 9-0 run by the Bearcats, which included a shot-clock-beating trey by Ben Klimchock.
 
The Bearcat lead grew to eight, 21-13, on a drive by Turner near the 9-minute mark, and a pair of free throws by Dillon Stith with 8:57 to go made it a 10-point game.

Four straight points by the visiting Yellow Jackets cut into the margin, but a putback dunk by Stith made the score 25-27 in favor of Saint Vincent at the 7:50 mark.

Waynesburg freshman Christian Koroly then got the hot hand for the Jackets, hitting three pointers on consecutive trips down the court.  Later, he drew a foul while attempting another trey, hitting two of three shots and making it a one-point game, 28-27 with Saint Vincent in front.
 
At the 4:22 mark, the Bearcats' transition offense made a statement, as point guard JC Howard fed to Stith, who was on a full sprint.  Stith took off from just inside the foul line and threw down a thunderous dunk that increased the lead to three and brought the crowd to its feet.
 
However, Waynesburg refused to back down, as the teams traded baskets throughout much of the remainder of the half.  A three by Pat Jones with 2:23 to go put SVC ahead by five, 32-27, but Waynesburg outscored the Bearcats 6-3 the rest of the way, as Saint Vincent took a 40-38 lead into the locker room.
 
The second half was played just as close for the first 14+ minutes.  

Jacob Fleege hit a three in the first 15 seconds to give Waynesburg the lead, and Kenny Klase then extended the lead to three just 30 seconds later.  A three-point play by Stith gave SVC back the lead, 46-45 at the 16:44 mark.  

Waynesburg freshman Christian Koroly then became the star for the Jackets, giving them the lead two minutes later on a reverse layup, then helping them re-establish a one-point lead, 51-50, with a tip-in.

The lead continued to bounce back and forth, as a JC Howard trey made it 59-56 Saint Vincent at the 9:35 mark.  Fleegle then cut the margin to one, and Koroly hit a three to make it 61-59 Jackets.  

With 7:17 on the clock, Stith hit an off-balance shot off the glass, drawing a foul.  After hitting the free throw, SVC led, 64-61.  

Thomas Ellis returned the favor with a score 20 seconds later, also drawing a foul, but missed the shot from the charity stripe.  

Up 64-63, the Bearcats took control of the game.  Stith hit a pair of free throws to extend start a 10-0 Bearcat run, which ended with a three from Stith at the 3:40 mark, that made the score 74-63.

After EJ Coleman scored for Waynesburg, the Bearcats' Ben Klimchock hit back-to-back threes to run the lead to 15 with just 2:30 remaining, putting the game out of reach.

Sean Kett and Pat Jones each added dunks in the closing minute, bringing the Bearcat crowd to its feet once again.

Turner and Stith each scored 25 points for Saint Vincent in the final PAC home games of their careers.  Stith grabbed 13 rebounds.  Kett tallied 16 points and 9 boards to go along with three blocked shots.  Jones and Klimchock each tallied 9 points. 

Saint Vincent outrebounded Waynesburg by a 37-25 margin.

Waynesburg was led by Koroly's 19 points, with Coleman adding 12.  Koroly had a team-high four rebounds.

Saint Vincent is now 21-6 overall on the season, and will travel to Kentucky for a Saturday evening matchup against Thomas More for the title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.  Tipoff is 7:30.