W&J shows its better half, tops Denison
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter The Presidents’ Eric Holmes tries to get through Denison’s Matthew Bauer during the first half of the game Wednesday.
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter W&J’s Dough Johnson works his way down the court past Denison’s David Meurer during the first half Wednesday.
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter W&J’s Alexa DelGreco tries to get around Pitt-Greensburg’s Brittany Butterworth in the second half.
Washington & Jefferson College’s men’s basketball team overcame a mistake-prone first half and capitalized on second-half turnovers Wednesday night as the Presidents defeated Denison, 84-72, at Henry Memorial Center.
A disappointing first half, highlighted by the Presidents (2-1) being outscored in the lane and regularly outrebounded had W&J on the ropes to begin the second half.
The Presidents fought back after trailing at halftime, eventually taking the lead with 13 minutes left in the game on a basket by junior forward Mitch Locher.
Locher finished with 20 points and eight rebounds, his third-straight double-digit scoring output.
“We didn’t compete hard enough in the first half and that was the difference,” Locher said. “In the second half, we fought for loose balls and grabbed those big rebounds to finish the game strong.”
Locher’s three-pointer on the ensuing possession was followed less than a minute later by a put-back off a rebound on the Presidents’ next possession. Denison (0-1) regained the lead just two minutes later, but the outside shooting of W&J propelled the Presidents to the win. Nick Stone and Tyler Haas added back-to-back shots from behind the arc to give the Presidents a 63-61 lead with nine minutes to play.
Aggressive play on the defensive end forced errant shots by Denison, while another three-pointer by Jake Swan added to the W&J lead. Stiff defense and pivotal mistakes by Denison in the game’s closing minutes allowed the Presidents to escape with the win and avoid back-to-back losses at home. W&J made four of seven three-pointers in the second half.
“It’s a great win for us,” junior guard Doug Johnson said. “We felt like we almost let both games slip over the weekend and to come out tonight with a strong second half was important. We couldn’t stop (Brad Woolard) in the first half and that was the big reason we trailed, but we locked him up.”
The opening minutes of the non-conference matchup were back-and-forth. Washington & Jefferson exchanged three-point shots with Denison until the Presidents took the momentum behind the athleticism of Locher. The junior forward stormed down the court and put up a two-handed dunk with seven minutes remaining to give W&J a 28-25 lead. The score was tied six times during the first half, which included 13 lead changes.
The Presidents went silent for almost six minutes, as the Big Red went on a 13-point run by capitalizing on missed W&J shots and crucial turnovers inside the paint. Woolard led Denison with impressive shots from inside and outside the paint. The junior had 21 first-half points, along with five rebounds. The Big Red were given the opportunity to increase their lead, but missed eight free throws in the first stanza
After seeing their deficit increase to 10 points, the Presidents finished the first-half on a high note. Swan and Johnson added three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to cut the Big Red lead to two points with 1:27 to play. Johnson added a free throw on the Presidents’ next possession, but Wollard’s turnaround jumper with time running out gave Denison a 41-38 halftime lead. The junior only had two second-half points.
The Presidents continue their five-game homestand Saturday at 1 p.m., when they host Penn State-Fayette.
“This game will prepare us, especially for PAC play,” Johnson said. “We can stand any punches the other team has and execute down the stretch when it counts.”
Johnson scored 17 points and Mike Resnik added 14 for W&J, which committed only 12 turnovers.
Washington & Jefferson’s women’s team started the doubleheader off with a dominant victory over Pitt-Greensburg, 77-58, to record the team’s first win of the season.
The Presidents (1-2) controlled play during the first half, leading 38-19 at halftime and outrebounding Pitt-Greensburg 31-10 in the first half. With Washington & Jefferson coasting, the Bobcats began to show signs of life, forcing 12 second-half turnovers. W&J senior forward Chelsea Apke had 11 rebounds in the first half and finished with 12 on the game.
Pitt-Greensburg (1-2) recorded nine unanswered points over two minutes behind untimely fouls on the Presidents; including back-to-back calls on both ends of the court against W&J. The Bobcats utilized a lineup of five guards, giving the Presidents the size advantage. The result was W&J outrebounding UPG 56-29 while scoring 42 points in the lane.
A trio of Presidents players paced the team’s offensive performance with double-digit points: Apke finished with 18, sophomore guard Beka Belhy finished with 15 and junior center Valerie Dunlap led W&J with 19 points.