Small college basketball: W&J men hold off Chatham rally
Washington & Jefferson’s Brandon Jakiela (5) draws a foul against Chatham’s Mike Conley after making a steal and driving to the basket.
Mark Marietta/ For the Observer- Reporter
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Closely guarded by Chatham's Marcos Cintron (5), W&J's Brandon Jakiela looks to drive the baseline in the first half Wednesday at Salviti Family Gymnasium.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
W&J's Michael Bigley powers past Chatham's Isaiah Smith on the way to a score that put the Presidents up 27-21 in the first half.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
W&J's Mat Seidl (13) splits Chatham defenders Nick Bomar (22) and Marcos Cintron (5), drawing a foul late in the game.
Washington & Jefferson’s men’s basketball team remained undefeated in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference and ran its winning streak to five games Wednesday night.
How the Presidents got there – with a 70-69 victory over Chatham at Salvitti Family Gymnasium – should have the Cougars eagerly awaiting the rematch Jan. 25 in Pittsburgh.
W&J (4-0, 6-1) built a 13-point lead with 11 minutes remaining before Chatham (2-1, 2-4) battled back and took the game down to the final shot.
Freshmen played big roles for W&J as South Fayette graduate Brandon Jakiela scored a team-high 19 points and North Hills product Matt Seidl followed with 15.
Point guard Michael Bigley also scored in double figures for W&J with 11 points.
The Presidents led 29-26 at halftime and was able to push the advantage to 57-44 with 11:18 remaining after some stellar play by Jakiela.
Chatham, however, rallied behind Simon Boyer, who scored a game-high 24 points.
W&J led 67-60 with 3:36 remaining following two free throws by Seidl, but the Presidents tripped the free-throw line the rest of the game, making only three of eight attempts over the final 2:19, which allowed Chatham to fuel a comeback. W&J made one of seven free throws in the first half and 13 of 28 in the game.
Nick Bomar had 12 points and four steals for Chatham.
Saint Vincent 63, Waynesburg 57: Shemar Bennett scored 19 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and Saint Vincent made just enough free throws to slip past host Waynesburg 63-57 in a PAC game.
Saint Vincent (3-1, 6-1) made 22 of 26 free throws, helping the Bearcats erase a three-point Waynesburg lead with 14 minutes remaining.
Andrew Reed scored 12 points and Jaden Gales had 11 for Saint Vincent, which was able to overcome a game-high 25 points by Waynesburg’s Matt Popeck.
Waynesburg dropped its third straight and fell to 1-4 in the PAC and 1-5 overall. The Yellow Jackets made one more field goal than Saint Vincent but was only 12-for-17 at the free-throw line.
Women’s results
Wash & Jeff 60, Chatham 50: Sarah Berardelli led a balanced scoring attack with 15 points and Washington & Jefferson stretched its winning streak to five games with a 60-50 victory over host Chatham in a PAC game.
W&J (4-0, 6-1) remains undefeated in the PAC while Chatham (2-1, 4-2) suffered its first league loss.
The game was close for more than three quarters. W&J forged a 26-24 halftime lead and stretched it to 47-41 after three quarters. The Presidents sealed the win by holding Chatham to only nine points in the fourth quarter.
W&J hammered Chatham on the boards, outrebounding the Cougars 46-25. Chatham was able to stay close until the final minutes because of 20 W&J turnovers and a 16-point performance by the Cougars’ Aurille Brunner.
Adalynn Cherry scored 11 points for W&J and Meghan Drybaugh led with a game-high 16 rebounds to go with six assists.
Saint Vincent 66, Waynesburg 50: Madison Weber led three Saint Vincent players in double figures with 14 points and the Bearcats used two strong quarters to defeat visiting Waynesburg 66-50 in a PAC game.
Saint Vincent (3-1, 4-2) led 17-14 after the first quarter, then outscored Waynesburg 37-16 over the next two periods. The Yellow Jackets held a 34-29 scoring edge over the first and fourth quarters.
Waynesburg (0-4, 0-6) outrebounded Saint Vincent 41-32 but the yellow Jackets shot only 29 percent.
Avery Robinson scored a game-high 19 points and was the only Waynesburg player in double figures.