WASHINGTON, Pa. (Dec. 15)- The Saint Vincent men's basketball team extended their winning streak to five as they took down Washington and Jefferson 90-71 behind another strong offensive showing.
 
The Bearcats (7-3, 4-2) were once again led by an offensive outburst by Dev Ostrowski's 38 points and complimented by overall offensive efficiency and defensive intensity to take down the Presidents (7-3, 5-2) while leading for most of the game.
 
Ostrowski was the star of the show, scoring 38 points on 16/26 shooting from the field and a blistering 6/7 from deep. He was able to find offense all over the floor and find it out at the right time, hitting shots that ended W&J runs and extended Bearcat leads. He was not alone in the scoring, as Mike Iuzzolino added 18 points on 5/9 shooting and Osyon Jones contributed 14 points on 6 rebounds.
 
The Bearcats started the game hot, jumping out to an 11-5 lead after the first four minutes. Ostrowski scored a quick seven points to open the game.
 
The next five minutes turned into more of a defensive battle as both teams struggled to find the bottom of the hoop. Thanks to some free throws and a couple of turnovers, W&J was able to keep the game close, trailing just 17-16 with about ten minutes left in the half.
 
The Bearcats were then able to build a lead thanks to a 17-8 run over the next five minutes. They solved they W&J press and were able to break it for easy looks that they cashed in on. They were also able to get to line six times during the run, knocking down all six free throws. After this run the Bearcats led 34-24 with about five minutes to go in the half.
 
W&J was able to get their offense going, shooting 5/5 from the field over the final five minutes. Their run over that time was just 13-11 over those five minutes though thanks to Ostrowski. He scored all 11 points for the Bearcats in this span, willing them to a 45-37 lead at halftime.
 
As a team the Bearcats had a good offensive half, shooting 52% from the field and cleaning up at the line hitting eight of their ten free throw attempts. The story of the half however was Ostrowski. He scored 25 points in the opening half on 11/16 shooting from the field and 3/4 from downtown. He scored on all three levels, finding space to get his three-point shot off or blowing by his man for some finishes at the rim. He paced the Bearcats offense all half and they could not have asked for more from their star guard.
 
Both offenses started out hot over the first four minutes of the second half with Saint Vincent able to hold its edge, leading 52-45 with about 16 minutes to go in the game.
 
Over the next about four minutes the game settled into a more defensive battle. Both teams brought more ball pressure and were more aggressive in help to forced tough shots and generating turnovers. The Bearcats were able to score enough to outpace W&J and keep their lead 60-52 with about 12 minutes to go.
 
The Bearcats were able to expand this lead thanks to a 13-4 run over the next four minutes. They were able to find a great flow on offense thanks to some nice passing and great transition play highlighted by a quick six points from Jevontae Jones. This run was able to push the Bearcats lead to 17 with score sitting at 73-56 with about eight minutes left in the game.
 
Both teams traded buckets at the end as the Bearcats were able to hold the lead and pull out the 90-71 victory.
 
The Bearcats will now enjoy a break for the Christmas holiday. They'll look to keep the winning streak going back at home against Adrian on Monday, Dec. 30^th. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 PM at the Robert S. Carey Center.