Thomas More edges Waynesburg in overtime
D.J. Ritchey’s jump shot from the top of the key with three seconds remaining in overtime rattled in, then popped out of the basket as Waynesburg fell to Thomas More, 85-83, in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
Damon King made two free throws to give Thomas More (1-3 ) an 85-81 lead with 22 seconds to play in OT. Waynesburg’s Jon Knab hit a layup to cut the lead to two with 13 seconds to play. Ritchey stole the basketball with eight seconds left and got off his shot five seconds later and Thomas More got the rebound.
Thomas More’s Simon Clifford sank two free throws with 1:12 left in regulation to tie the score 76-76 but neither team could score after that, sending the game to overtime.
Ritchey led the Yellow Jackets (0-4) with 18 points and B.J. Durham added 17. Nate Labishak chipped in with 15.
Clifford had a game-high 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Saints. Corey Howard scored 16 and Brandon Horne tossed in 12.
Grove City 63, Wash & Jeff 41: Grove City outscored Washington & Jefferson by 11 in each half to grab a 63-41 victory in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
Andy Beckman and Steve Tam each scored 11 points for the Wolverines (4-2). Tyler McGrath chipped in with 10 points off the bench.
W&J, which played only eight players, was led by Christian Rohaus’ 16 points. Brian Graytok added 11 points and was one of just five players to score in the game for the Presidents.
The Wolverines controlled the boards, outrebounding W&J, 46-26.
Wash & Jeff 77, Grove City 44: The Washington & Jefferson women’s basketball team jumped out to a 27-6 first quarter lead and never looked back in a 77-44 victory over Grove City in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
W&J is 5-1 and Grove City fell to 2-3.
Eleven of the 15 players used by W&J scored, led by Taylor Cortazzo’s 12 points and Dani Medovich’s 10. Danielle Parker had eight points and seven rebounds. W&J, which led 42-22 at halftime, had a 44-30 edge in rebounding.
Beka Bellhy had nine points and Rachel Bellhy and India March had eight apiece.
Lexi Arkwright led the Wolverines with 14 points.
Thomas More 93, Waynesburg 68: Nikki Kiernan had a double-double, 24 points and 12 rebounds, to power Thomas More to a 93-68 rout of Waynesburg in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
Thomas More, ranked 12th in NCAA Division III, moved to 4-0 and Waynesburg fell to 1-5.
The game was tied, 17-17, after the first quarter but the Saints outscored the Yellow Jackets 30-13 to take a 50-30 lead at halftime.
Alexa Santamaria scored 12 points and Abby Owings 11 for the Saints, who doubled Waynesburg’s rebound total, 54-27. Waynesburg turned the ball over 22 times.
Heather Davis had a team-high 15 points and five assists for Waynesburg. Addy Knetzer added 13 points.