The Saint Vincent men's basketball team used a fast start to roll to an 88-75 wire to wire victory over Waynesburg University in Presidents' Athletic Conference play in Greene County.
 
Senior forward Tom Kromka poured in a career-high 28 points and added 10 rebounds for a double-double effort to lead the Bearcats to the victory.
 
The Bearcats built quick leads of 6-0 and 8-2 in the opening minutes. Sophomore guard David Stephen continued his strong play, tallying the first eight points for SVC.
 
After a three-pointer by the hosts, SVC rattled off eight straight points to push the edge to 16-5 at the 15:24 mark. Back-to-back layups by Kromka and Stephen capped the run.
 
A layup by Kromka and jumper by reigning PAC Player of the Week Mike Simmons helped SVC swell the lead to 20 points (26-6) with 12:06 to play in the first half.
 
A little later, three-point field goals by sophomore Cletus Helton and freshman Andrew Reed gave the Bearcats a 36-12 advantage at the 8:03 mark. The 24-point lead was the largest of the first half for the Green and Gold.

However, Waynesburg would close the first half on a 20-10 run to cut the Saint Vincent lead to 46-32 after 20 minutes of play. The Bearcats continued their strong shooting, converting at a 54.3 percent clip during the first half.
 
Stephen (14) and Kromka (12) combined to pace the offense by scoring in double figures during the first half.
 
The Bearcats opened the second half with a 9-0 run to extend lead to 55-32 at the 18:07 mark. Saint Vincent would maintain a sizeable cushion for a large portion part of the second half. A layup by Kromka gave SVC a 70-52 with a little more than nine minutes remaining. 
 
However, Waynesburg would not go quietly as the home team put together a 21-12 run to cut the SVC lead back into single digits. A layup by Nate Gearhart made the score 82-73 with 2:40 to play. That was as close as the host Yellow Jackets would get.
  
Shemar Bennett (15), Stephen (14) and Ryan Dutton (13) all joined Kromka in double figures. Bennett added eight rebounds and five assists.
 
Saint Vincent shot 55.4 percent from the field, converting 31 of 56 attempts on the night. The Bearcats outscored the Jackets by a 54-34 margin in the paint.
 
The win was the sixth straight for Saint Vincent, who improves to 13-2 and 6-0 PAC play. The loss drops Waynesburg to 4-10 overall and 3-3 in league contests.
 
Saint Vincent returns home to face Geneva College on Saturday, Jan. 12. Start time is slated for 6 p.m. inside the Carey Center. The Bearcats will be in search of their sixth straight win overall.