Jan 9, 2022 3 min read

The Washington & Jefferson men’s basketball team saw its six-game winning streak was snapped in a 79-76 loss to visiting Geneva College Saturday.

The loss drops W&J to 10-3 overall and 5-1 in conference play. Geneva improves to 5-5 overall and 3-1 in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.

W&J had an all around well balanced offensive effort in the loss. Nick Gearhart led the way with 18 points and six rebounds. Kyran Mitchell finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists in the setback. Michael Bigley put up 15 points for W&J. J.R. Mazza and Isaiah Langston finished with nine points apiece.

Geneva’s Matt Veynovich opened up the game for the Golden Tornadoes by draining a three pointer just 20 seconds into the first half. Geneva held a very tight lead until a Langston layup gave W&J its first lead of the afternoon, a 32-31, with 8:01 remaining in the first half. Geneva countered with a 10-5 run to regain the lead at 41-37. However, back-to-back baskets by Mitchell and Bigley evened the score at 41-41 going into halftime.

Bigley scored off of a fast break to open the second half scoring and give W&J a brief lead. Geneva registered the next 12 points to open up a double-digit lead over the Presidents at 53-43 when Lyle Tipton connected on a three-point basket with 17:01 to play. Geneva led the rest of the way as W&J cut the deficit to two points on multiple occasions.

Women’s results

Westminster 65, Waynesburg 50: The Waynesburg University women’s basketball team made its long-awaited return to the court on Saturday, when it traveled to Westminster for a Presidents’ Athletic Conference showdown with the Titans. The Yellow Jackets got off to a solid start, but a big second half by the host led Westminster to a 65-50 win.

Waynesburg (1-9, 1-3) scored seven of the first 10 points of the day to take a four-point lead after 4:19 of play. That lead grew to five (10-5) midway through the first quarter thanks to a three-pointer by senior Kacey Kastroll.

The Yellow Jackets stayed ahead of the opposition until the 8:46 mark of the opening period, when Westminster (5-5, 2-2) completed a short 5-0 run that put the Titans ahead 14-12. The two rivals traded field goals to end the quarter and the home team led 16-14 heading to the second.

Waynesburg was never able to regain the lead in period number two, but a layup by senior Brooke Fuller 1:10 into the quarter tied things up at 16-16. From there, Westminster tallied the next six points to jump ahead 22-16.

The Blue and White maintained leads throughout the remainder of the half and when the two teams broke for their respective locker rooms, Westminster was ahead 30-24.

Sophomore guard Avery Robinson and freshman forward Madisen Dayton reached double digits in scoring with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Fuller chipped in nine points on the afternoon, while sophomore point guard Anika Dansby led Waynesburg in rebounds (nine), assists (four) and steals (four).