LATROBE, Pa. (Feb. 27)- The Saint Vincent men's basketball fell in a hard-fought battle to Washington and Jefferson in the Semifinals of the PAC Championship Tournament by a score of 87-79.
The Bearcats (20-6) played a good game, but some early defensive struggles and overall offensive inefficiency allowed Washington and Jefferson (21-6) to get an early lead and make some late runs to pull this one out.
The Bearcats did not go down without a fight, and that was shown in some of their top players tonight. Osyon Jones led the team in scoring with 17 points on 6-10 shooting and five rebounds. He was a consistent source of offense in a game where that was sometimes hard to come by. Mike Iuzzolino added 15 points on 7-15 shooting. Dev Ostrowski added 15 points as well and Jaden Gales recorded a double-double with 14 points and 16 rebounds.
The Washington and Jefferson offense was hitting on all cylinders to begin the game. They shot 5-7 from the field and 100% from deep and the free throw line for a quick 16 points in the first five minutes of the game. They spaced the floor well and attacked in isolation to find good shots at the rim and used those drives to open up the rest of the floor. The Bearctats found themselves trailing 16-8 after that opening five minutes of play.
The Presidents kept it rolling over the next five minutes, going 6-9 from the field to fuel another 13-4 run. Saint Vincent found themselves down 29-12 with ten minutes to go in the opening half.
Saint Vincent was able to quickly turn the game on its head. Over the next three minutes they went on 15-2 run thanks to smothering defense that caused six W&J turnovers. These turnovers gave the Bearcats great opportunities to get out and run. In the blink of an eye they cut the lead to 31-27.
Both teams went back-and-forth for the rest of the half with Washington and Jefferson taking a 40-39 lead into halftime. Both offenses went cold from the field combining to make just eight shots over this stretch.
It was an up and down first half for the Bearcats. After a rough defensive start it was that side of the ball that pulled them back into the game. SVC forced 12 turnovers in the first half, which sparked their offense.
Both teams leveled out in the first five minutes of the second half. They traded buckets and found the majority of their success driving to the basket and getting to the line four times over this stretch. The margin stayed the same with a score of 48-47 with about 15 minutes to play.
The Bearcats were able to ramp up the pressure on defense and spark some more offense to take the lead over the next five minutes. They attacked the basket relentlessly, either scoring inside or getting to the line spearheaded by Gales who scored nine of the Bearcats 13 points over this stretch. This little 13-7 run was good enough to give them a 60-55 lead with just under 11 minutes to play.
W&J responded with a run of their own, returning that intensity inside to get to the line six times over a two minute stretch to fuel an 11-4 run. This mixed with some turnover issues from Saint Vincent allowed W&J to take a 66-64 lead with just under eight minutes to play.
The Saint Vincent offense ran cold from the field over the next four minutes going just 1-6 but they were able to keep the free throw creation high to keep them in it. Additionally their defense kept up the high energy level to limit the W&J offense from going on any crazy run. They were able to extend the lead, but just by one point, leading 74-73 with about four minutes to play.
That margin stayed the same over the next two minutes with both teams getting buckets. Jones and Ostrowski found success inside while W&J used the line to their advantage. They still held a 78-75 lead with about two minutes left.
A Gales foul at the basket put W&J back to the line with 1:10 left to play where they converted both attempts, pushing their lead to 80-75.
The Bearcats were immediately able to run down the floor and break a press for an easy Maxwell Gordon layup to cut the lead back to 80-77 with 1:02 to play.
Gales recorded a massive block on the next defensive possession, but unfortunately went right into the hands of a trailing W&J player for an easy layup to push the lead back to double digits at 83-77.
A missed three for the Bearcats led to some more W&J free throws which essentially put this one away, pushing their lead to 85-77.
After a Saint Vincent layup and some more free throws Washington and Jefferson walked out of this one with a 87-79 victory.
The Bearcats shot 43% from the field and 16% from deep on the game. These offensive struggles mixed with a 32 to 17 free throw disparity were just too much for the Bearcats to overcome as they end their season on a loss in the playoffs.
Saint Vincent concludes the 2025 campaign with a 20-6 overall record and 16-4 in PAC play.
