WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Dec. 2) – The Saint Vincent men's basketball team used a late-game run to earn a 74-71 comeback victory at Waynesburg and improve to 6-0 on the season.
 
Facing a 4-point deficit with 1:40 left in regulation, the Bearcats (6-0, 4-0 Presidents' Athletic Conference) outscored the Yellow Jackets (4-3, 2-2 PAC) 10-3 down the stretch to pull out the comeback win and cap off a frenetic second half that saw 10 ties and 11 lead changes.
 
After Jaden Gales made a driving layup to cut the deficit to 68-66 with 1:30 left, teammate Jaden Bailey picked the pocket of Waynesburg's Ryan Felberg off the ensuing inbounds play and tied the game with a layup.
 
The Yellow Jackets answered with a conventional three-point play to take a 71-68 lead with 52 seconds to go, but the Bearcats' Dev Ostrowski promptly drew a foul and buried two from the line to cut the gap to one with 44 ticks left. SVC's defense would then come up with another big play, this time with Tayler McNeal coming up with a steal and going coast-to-coast with the layup to give SVC a 72-71 lead with 38 seconds to go.
 
Waynesburg would then commit its third turnover on as many trips, and Ostrowski would close out the victory by sinking two more freebies with nine seconds to go, as Waynesburg's desperation three-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark.
 
The game-sealing free throws from Ostrowski capped off a dazzling second half for the sophomore, as he scored 20 of his game-high 22 points over the final 20 minutes, going 6-for-7 from the field and 7-for-8 from the line.
 
Ostrowski was one of three SVC players to score in double figures, as Gales scored 16 points and Osyon Jones 12, on 6-for-8 shooting. McNeal and Mike Iuzzolino each added nine points, with McNeal posting team-highs of four rebounds, four assists and three steals.
 
In a physical first half in which the teams combined to commit 26 fouls and take 33 free throws, the Bearcats got off to a hot start, using an Iuzzolino three-pointer, four points from McNeal and driving layup from Ostrowski to open up a 9-3 lead at the 15-minute mark. The SVC lead would eventually stretch to nine, 16-7, after a Gales jumper with just over 11 minutes left, and the Bearcats would continue to maintain a margin between six and nine points over the next several minutes. A McNeal free throw with 4:10 left in the half gave the Bearcats a 27-20 lead, before the Yellow Jackets countered with a 7-2 surge over the final 3:30, capped off with a Jordan McLoyd three-pointer with 10 seconds left, to close the SVC lead to 29-28 at the break.
 
Waynesburg kept the momentum coming out of the locker room, eventually opening up a 42-38 lead with 14:22 to go. SVC answered with six straight points - two apiece from Gales, Jones and Corey Harden - to jump in front 44-42 with 11:12 left, but the Yellow Jackets responded with an 11-4 run to take a 53-48 lead with 8:53 remaining.
 
The teams would trade baskets over the next several minutes, before a Jones jumper inside the paint, followed by five points from Ostrowski in a 20-second span, capped off a 9-2 run and put the Bearcats back in front, 61-59, with 4:12 left in regulation. The tide then swung back in favor of the Yellow Jackets, who outscored their visitors 9-3 over the next 2:40 to gain a 68-64 lead with 1:41 remaining and set the stage for SVC's late comeback.
 
Both teams shot exceptionally for the game, with the Bearcats shooting at a 54 percent clip (27-for-50) and the Yellow Jackets 58 percent (27-for-46). Waynesburg outrebounded Saint Vincent by a 33-19 margin, but the Bearcats forced 19 Yellow Jacket turnovers, while committing only seven. Each squad was also busy at the foul line, with Saint Vincent connecting on 18 of 30 free throws and Waynesburg 13 of 22.
 
At 6-0, the Bearcats are now off to their best start to a season since the 2008-09 squad started 9-0.
 
The Bearcats will now have a two-day respite before opening up a busy 3-game, 5-day home stand with a 7 p.m. tilt against Penn State-Fayette on Monday, Dec. 4, in the Robert S. Carey Student Center.