Small college basketball:
J.R. Mazza scored 25 points, including seven three-point field goals, and the Washington & Jefferson men’s basketball team opened Presidents’ Athletic Conference play Tuesday night with a 93-84 road victory over Bethany.
W&J (1-0, 2-1) forged a 57-43 halftime lead, saw Bethany close to within eight early in the second half but blew the game open before a late push by the Bison cut the final gap to single digits.
The key stretch in the game was an 11-0 run in the first half that opened a 28-12 lead for W&J. Mazza had seven points, including a rare four-point play, in an 18-second span during the run.
Mazza scored 16 of his points in the first half.
Bethany (0-1, 0-3) closed to within 61-53 early in the second half before the Presidents quickly pushed the gap to as many as 22 points.
Kryan Mitchell had a double-double for W&J, scoring 15 points to go with 11 rebounds.Matt Seidl scored 14 points.
Bethany put four players in double figures led by Cole Dailey’s 17 points. He also had 12 rebounds.
Lincoln 81, California 76: Aiden Williams scored a game-high 29 points and Lincoln rallied in the final six minutes to grab an 81-76 victory over California in a non-conference game at the Convocation Center.
Williams made six of Lincoln’s 11 three-point field goals, which helped it erase a second-half deficit.
Cal (1-2) led 66-57 with 6:25 remaining after two free throws by Keith Palek, who led the Vulcans with 28 points.
Lincoln (2-1), however, chipped away the deficit and took a 77-75 lead when Reggie Hudson made a jumper with 57 seconds to play. With the Lincoln lead at three points, Cal missed a potential game-tying three-point shot with 16 seconds left.
Palek had a double-double, grabbing 10 rebounds to go with his 28 points. Cam Polak scored 20 points and Jermaine Hall had 15 for the Vulcans.
Hudson came off the bench to score 14 points and Aidan Anderson scored seven of his 10 points in the second half.