WAYNESBURG, PA (Feb 12)- The Saint Vincent men's basketball team used a strong offensive display to power past Waynesburg 78-62 on Wednesday night.
The Bearcats (17-5, 13-4 PAC) got contributions up and down the roster with 10 different players entering the scoring column. Waynesburg (7-15, 5-12 PAC) had stretches where they were able to slow down the Bearcats, but Saint Vincent's firepower eventually just overwhelmed them. Jaden Gales scored his 1,000th point with Saint Vincent in the win as well.
Maxwell Gordon led the team in this one, scoring 18 points on 7-10 shooting with 5 assists and 4 steals. He completely controlled the game on both ends in a dominate performance. Mike Iuzzolino seemed to provide the scoring spark anytime the Bearcats needed it, scoring 17 points on 6-13 shooting from the field and 3-8 shooting from deep on the game.
Waynesburg started the game scorching hot, going on a 12-4 run over the first five minutes of the game. They shot 6-9 to open the game and was just finding easy offense almost every trip down. Their defense matched them, forcing the Bearcats into 1-6 shooting.
The Bearcats were quickly able to flip the script, going on a 13-5 run over the next 5 minutes to tie the game at 17-17. They matched Waynesburg by going 6-9 over this stretch thanks to a more focused effort on getting inside the arch and scoring in paint. Their defense also became more active, best highlighted by the 2 turnovers they caused.
For the rest of the half the teams went back and forth with the Bearcats slowly building their lead minute by minute. They ended the half up 39-28 in what was overall a 22-11 run over the final 9 minutes.
After that slow start, the Bearcats offense really just clicked in that half. They got contributions from across the roster, with seven different players scoring over that final run. In the first half in general the Bearcats shot 46% from the field despite shooting just 1-9 from deep. They also took advantage of their trips to the line going 8-12 from the charity stripe.
The second half started with both teams having a renewed focus on defense. Over the first five minutes of the half Saint Vincent shot 1-8 from the field. Waynesburg was also far from perfect on offense, turning it over twice and leaving 3 points at the line over this stretch, but they were able to do enough offensively to go on a 7-2 run and cut the lead to 41-35.
The Bearcats responded with a 14-4 blitz over the next three minutes to push their lead back up to 55-39 with about 12 minutes to play. Iuzzolino took over the offense scoring eight quick points. As a team they shot 4-5 from the field over this stretch with two threes and a 4-4 mark at the line. They turned up the heat on defense, forcing two turnovers, and used this to create quick and easy offense.
From there the game turned back into a stalemate. Waynesburg offense was able to find some rhythm as they kept the pressure on by keeping up their scoring, but thanks to some more turnovers and defensive lapses, the Bearcats offense was able to hold pace and keep their lead in the double digits the rest of the half. A late run by Waynesburg made the final score of 78-62 seem a little closer than it was, but this game was thoroughly controlled by Saint Vincent after that 14-4 run.
Besides those rough patches to begin each half, the Saint Vincent offense hummed in this one. They were able to get inside with ease and use their size and athleticism to get out and run early and often. They shot 47% from the field as a team even though they struggled from deep, shooting just 32%.
The Bearcats will look to carry this momentum into their next matchup this Saturday, February 15 at Allegheny. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. in Meadville.
