Jan 4, 2022 2 min read

Nick Gearhart and John Mazza each scored 21 points, Kyran Mitchell had a double-double and Washington & Jefferson moved into sole possession of first place in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference with an 82-66 victory over Thiel at Salvitti Family Gymnasium Tuesday night.

W&J moves to 4-0 in the conference and 9-2 overall. The Presidents are a half-game ahead of idle second-place Waynesburg.

The Presidents forced Thiel (0-4, 1-9) into 25 turnovers including 16 in the first half when W&J built a 37-32 lead. Thiel scored the first six points of the second half to take a one-point lead, but the Presidents embarked on a 10-2 run to take the lead for good at 47-40. Gearhart had four points in the run including a three-pointer.

W&J then pushed the lead to double digits. The Presidents led by as many as 18 points in the second half.

Mazza made five of nine three-point shots to lead W&J’s perimeter game. Gearhart scored 12 of his points in the first half.

Mitchell contributed 17 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Michael Bigley had 17 points and five assists.

Ahmad Tejumola led Thiel with 13 points. The Tomcats shot 40 percent from the field but couldn’t overcome the 25 turnovers against W&J’s full-court pressure defense.