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The Saint Vincent men's basketball team hosted Waynesburg University on Wednesday evening in Presidents' Athletic Conference matchup. After trailing by 17, the Bearcats battled back but ultimately fell in overtime, 73-68. The Bearcats fall to 9-6 overall, 4-2 in the PAC while the Yellow Jackets improve to 3-12 with a conference record of 3-3.

Waynesburg opened the game by scoring the first 11 points. SVC did not get on the scoreboard until the 14:26 mark thanks to an Andrew Reed layup. The Yellow Jackets increased its lead to 16 (18-2) with 10:27 on the clock. The Bearcats began to catch fire as David Stephen scored six of the next eight points in the game. Drew Normandin followed suit by scoring  seven-straight and brought the deficit to four (19-15) with 3:56 to go in the half.

The visitors opened their lead back to seven but Reed responded with a three-point make and two free throws to pull Saint Vincent within two. WU tried to increase its lead with a tree but Cletus Helton scored the final three points of the half as the SVC only trailed 25-23. In the last 10:27, Saint Vincent ended the half on a 21-7 run.

To open the second half, Waynesburg expanded on its lead as it scored the first seven points. Saint Vincent tried to keep the difference to single digits but the Yellow Jackets went on a 9-0 run to lead 48-31 at the 13:39 mark. The Bearcats struggled to cut the lead until a 9-0 stretch of their own as Josh Duda made two free throws and nailed a right wing three to only trail by eight (50-42) with 8:20 to go in regulation. 

WU regained a double-digit advantage but SVC closed the gap once more. Shemar Bennett started the comeback with two free throws, then a combination of Helton, Reed and Stephen brought the Bearcats to a 54-51 difference with 5:16 left on the clock. After Waynesburg increased its lead back to five, Duda and Stephen combined for the next eight points to give Saint Vincent its first lead of the game, 59-56 at the 3:27 mark.

The Yellow Jackets regained the lead but Helton made a free throw to tie the game at 60 with 64 seconds remaining. Brennan Smith gave Waynesburg a two-point edge with 40 seconds to go but moments later, Duda was fouled and went to the line for two free throws. The senior guard made both attempts and sent the game into overtime. 

In the first extra period, Waynesburg opened the scoring but Saint Vincent kept the deficit to a single point. After falling behind by three, Duda nailed a three from the left wing at the 3:11 mark to tie the game at 66. However, SVC did not score until the final seconds as the Yellow Jackets scored seven-consecutive points to win by the final of 73-68.

Duda led all Bearcats with 16 points while Stephen ended the game with 14 points and eight rebounds. In the game, SVC only led the lead for 2:07 while outscoring Waynesburg 27-17 in points off turnovers.

Saint Vincent travels to Beaver Falls, Pa. to take on Geneva College on Saturday, Jan. 18. Start time is 3:00 p.m.