Dec 10, 2016 4 min read

WAYNESBURG – The Waynesburg University men’s and women’s basketball teams were swept by the St. Vincent in Presidents’ Athletic Conference games Saturday.

In the women’s game, Saint Vincent edged Waynesburg, 68-61, and the Bearcats came back to win the mane’s game, 71-70. Saint Vincent’s Tom Kromka, a junior forward, made a layup with five seconds left to give the Bearcats the one-point win.

Kromka used his 6-5, 245-pound frame to score the game-winner. He had 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

“We were looking for a post-up for me on that (last play),” Kromka explained. “It’s a big confidence booster for me moving forward in the season knowing that (head coach D.P. Harris) does trust me enough to take the big shots and make them for our team.”

Waynesburg led by at least seven points for an 18-minute stretch, until nine minutes remained in the second half. The Yellow Jackets led by as many as 15 points. The majority of that lead was built by three-pointers as the Jackets shot 14-for-24 from behind the arc.

Most of those threes, and a variety of other buckets, were set up by senior point guard Timmy Kaiser, who totaled 13 assists to go with nine points. That is the first double-digit assist game for Waynesburg since 2008 and the most assists in a game since 2003.

With about eight minutes left and Saint Vincent mounting a comeback, Waynesburg senior guard Christian Koroly made his sixth three-pointer of the game.

“That Koroly kid is ridiculous,” Harris said. “Six-for-10 from three? We couldn’t stop him at all.”

On the next possession, Koroly stole the ball and was fouled hard into the bleachers at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse. Koroly, a Trinity High School graduate, would not return and his injury status is not known.

The Bearcats then went on an 8-0 run to take their first lead.

With a four-point deficit and only two minutes left, junior Jon Knab, Waynesburg’s leading scorer, made a three-pointer. Kaiser then was fouled and made both free throws to give the Jackets the one point lead before Kromka made the game-winning layup.

Waynesburg got a good look at the buzzer but junior Kendall Paige’s three-point attempt from the corner came up short.

“They’re the four-time defending champs, so we’re going to try to put our best foot forward,” Waynesburg head coach Mark Christner said. “We were right there. Obviously, the result is disappointing. I think we played with a lot of resolve and showed a lot of grit. To be quite honest, there’s nothing to hang our heads about. If they’re who we think they are, which is a top contender in the league, then I say we are too.”

Saint Vincent’s Matt D’Amico led all players with 22 points on 8 of 11 shooting. Waynesburg had two players in double figures in Koroly and Brennan Smith, who hit four threes.

The game had the atmosphere of a playoff game, Harris said.

“We want to win a championship and championship teams have to find a way to win on the road,” Harris said.

With eight minutes left and the Jackets down seven points, one of St. Vincent’s best players, senior guard Mara Benvenuti, injured her right knee defending a fast break and did not return. Entering the contest, Benvenuti was a do-it-all guard for the Bearcats with per-game averages of 13.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists.

While many teams could crumble because of the loss, the Bearcats didn’t. After a basket by Waynesburg (3-1, 5-3) to bring the Jackets within five points, Bearcats guard Hannah Carroll made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions.

The two threes, and a jumper two minutes later, hampered a Yellow Jackets run that included three straight three-point possessions.

“When (Benvenuti) got hurt, their kids stepped up big,” Waynesburg coach Sam Jones said. “They hit some big shots, and that’s usually what happens when your best player gets hurt. Your teammates either collapse or pick her up, and they picked her up in a big way.”

Waynesburg’s comeback continued, though, as the Jackets pulled within one point with 1:35 remaining on a layup by Addy Knetzer. Babette Sanmartin’s layup and two free throws by Jasmine Weems sealed the win for Saint Vincent (2-1, 4-4).

“It wasn’t the prettiest of games on the stat line,” Saint Vincent coach Jimmy Petruska said. “but we really held our composure, kept our focus and our will, and we did the simple things pretty well.”

Knetzer, who leads the PAC in both scoring and rebounds, led all players with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

Haley Delaney and Katie Gehlmann scored 17 and 11, respectively, for the Jackets.