PHOTO GALLERY

By Jon Souders, Sports Information Student Assistant

The Bearcats erased a deficit in the final 10 minutes and pulled away to an 83-76 victory over visiting Waynesburg University in Presidents' Athletic Conference action.

A hot start by Coy Patterson Jr. helped Saint Vincent open the contest with a 6-2 lead, as the junior guard netted the first four points for the Bearcats. Within the next three minutes, Waynesburg put together a fury of scoring, pouring in 11 unanswered points to take an 13-6 lead at the 13:21 mark of the first half.

Austin Ford helped SVC answer, finishing with a bucket in the paint to bring the Bearcats within five points. However, on the ensuing trip down the court, the Yellow Jackets resulted in a successful four-point play by Jon Knab, giving the visitors its largest lead to that point at 17-8.

Mike Simmons knocked down a three-pointer from the corner to help start a 7-0 run for SVC, which ended with a bucket from Matt D'Amico, cutting the Waynesburg lead 17-15 and just over 9 minutes left to play in the half.

Waynesburg held a 39-33 halftime lead despite the Bearcats shooting 50 percent from the field. Knab was a problem for the Bearcats, as he led all scorers with 17 points at the break.

Saint Vincent was plagued by miscues in the first half, committing 12 turnovers over the first 20 minutes, compared to just four by the Jackets.

The Bearcats would start the second half strong, using a 7-3 run, closing the gap to 42-40 following a pair of free-throws from Ford at the 17:47 mark. After trading a few spurts of consecutive buckets, Waynesburg built its lead back up to seven points, making it 51-44 with 16 minutes remaining.

Coming off the bench, the Bearcats got a spark from a pair of freshman, as Colin Neville converted a field goal in front of back-to-back three-pointers from Josh Duda, helping bring the Bearcats back within a single point, at 53-52 with 13:25 to play.

Responding to a Yellow Jacket score, Jason Capco drove hard into the lane and converted a timely three-point play the old fashioned way. The very next trip down the court D'Amico capitalized on another and-1 to help SVC finally tie the contest at 58-58 with 10:35 left.

The lead teetered back and forth for the next couple of minutes as both teams poured the ball into the net. A pair of free-throws knocked down by Tom Kromka and Duda allowed SVC to reclaim their largest lead since the opening minutes, making it 65-62 at the 8:22 mark.

A little later on, Simmons drove baseline and kicked to an open Capco, who drained a three ball from the top of the key to increase the Bearcat lead to 75-67 with 4:26 left. Five late points helped bring Waynesburg within seven but they could get no closer, falling 83-76.

A major factor in the Bearcats win was their ability to not only reach the foul-line, but to convert on those opportunities at the charity stripe. Saint Vincent knocked down 32-of-41 (78 percent) from the line in the contest.

SVC used another balance attack offensively, totaling five players scoring in double figures. Ford led with 13, while D'Amico and Capco each added 12 points. Kromka chipped in 11 points and Duda finished with 10. Capco and Kromka tied with a team-high seven rebounds. Kromka continued filling the stat sheet, dishing out a game-best and career-high five assists.

Knab poured in a game-high 24 points for the visitors while Marcus Wallace ended with 18, both matching career highs.

The win is the eighth straight for Saint Vincent, who moved to 16-4 overall and 12-1 in PAC play. The Bearcats host Grove City on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 6 p.m. The loss drops Waynesburg to 6-14 overall and 4-9 in the league. 







Additional details to be posted soon.