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The Saint Vincent men's basketball team led by 23 at the half, en route to a 69-52 victory over visiting Waynesburg University in Presidents' Athletic Conference play.

Tom Kromka opened scoring in the game after a block by Shemar Bennett, giving SVC a 2-0 lead.  Up 6-4, the Bearcats went on a 7-point run started by a Coy Patterson Jr jumper, followed by a Kromka layup and a conventional 3-point play by Mike Simmons.

Later, a three by Waynesburg's Matt Popeck reduced the SVC lead to just four, 15-11, but the Bearcats scored 9 straight points before Waynesburg got back on the board with a bucket that made the score 24-13.  SVC then went on to add another 9 straight points, giving the hosts a 20-point lead, 33-13 with 6:31 remaining in the first half.

Late scores by Austin Dedert and Matt D'Amico put the Bearcats in front by a 43-20 margin at the half.

Patterson started the second half with four consecutive points for SVC, making it a 27-point game, and the lead eventually grew to 29 after a Kromka free throw, 62-33, with 7:09 remaining.  However, Waynesburg, which had struggled throughout much of the game shooting, started to make shots, embarking on a 10-0 run.  After a score by Patterson, the Yellow Jackets went back to work on offense, scoring five more points to complete a 15-2 run that left the score at 64-48.  

Bennett then got the Bearcats headed back in the right direction with four points and a pair of blocked shots in the closing minutes, as the hosts went on to win, 69-52.

Bennett led the offense with 11 points, including a 9-for-10 showing at the free throw line.  He also grabbed 7 rebounds and blocked four shots.  Kromka added 10 points and 7 boards, while Patterson tallied 10 points.  The teams combined for 49 fouls, resulting in 63 free throws. SVC shot 43.8% from the floor for the game, while Waynesburg hit just 25.4% of its shots, only 19.2% in the first half.

Saint Vincent is now 2-1 in the conference, 5-1 overall.  Waynesburg slips to 1-4 overall, 1-1 in the PAC.

The Bearcats will return to the court on Wednesday, December 6, traveling to Washington, D.C. to face Catholic University.