BOX SCORE

The Bearcats fought back from a late first-half deficit to defeat Waynesburg by a score of 71-60 in Presidents' Athletic Conference action in the Carey Center.

Pat Jones opened the game with a score 30 seconds into play, but the 2-0 lead would prove to be the only lead SVC would have over the next 18 minutes.  Waynesburg led 13-7 before Sean Kett scored at the 10:45 mark, followed by a three-point play by Jaylon Bell a minute later, making it a 1-point game, 13-12.

Waynesburg continued to hold a narrow lead, hitting a pair of free throws with 5:25 left in the half that made it a 21-17 lead.  A Bearcat steal led to a score by JC Howard that cut the gap to two, then Kett drove the lane on the next SVC possession, scoring to tie the game at 21-21.

With 2:15 on the clock, the Bearcats regained the lead on a baseline jumper from Austin Ford.  Waynesburg was unable to score on its next possession, with Kett grabbing the rebound.  The board gave him 10 in the half to go along with his 10 points, a rare first-half double-double. 

Ford followed with another layup, and after a steal by Ben Klimchock, Bell buried a three-pointer to complete an 11-0 run for the Bearcats from which the Jackets never recovered.  SVC took a 28-22 lead into the half.

Bell opened the second half with a pair of scores, then Jones and Howard hit back-to-back treys to make it 38-27.  An Austin Dedert layup followed, running the lead to 13 just over three minutes into the second half.

After Waynesburg made it a 9-point game (44-35) at the 13:44 mark, Bell once again took control, hitting a long two and a baseline jumper.  Kory Schulz then followed with four consecutive points, running the lead to 17, at 52-35.

Waynesburg slowly cut into the Bearcat lead, getting as close as six points (55-49) with 4:45 to go, but Bell, Jones and Howard tallied the game's next eight points, putting it out of reach.

Bell led the way with a career best 19 points, while Kett finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds.  Howard added 10 points, with Jones scoring 9.  Schulz recorded 6 points in just eight minutes on the court, while Ford had six points and six rebounds.

Saint Vincent is now 9-4 overall, 4-0 in the PAC and 5-0 at home.  The team will host Grove City College in a PAC game on Saturday (January 10) at 6PM in the Carey Center.