Men’s basketball wins seventh-straight with win over Geneva
Very seldom does the turning point of a basketball game occur in the first 10 minutes of action.
But when Waynesburg defeated the Geneva Golden Tornadoes Wednesday evening, that is essentially what happened. The Jackets used a quick start to get on top of Geneva early, and the team never relinquished the lead for the rest of the contest. The Orange and Black opened a 21-7 lead at the 10:07 mark of the first half, and never looked back. The team was able to head into halftime with a 30-19 advantage.
Waynesburg came out strong defensively, made several open shots and dominated the rebounding statistic, a trend that would be seen throughout the remainder of the game.
“We wanted to be established defensively, and we did a good job of that,” said head coach Mark Christner. “We also wanted to establish the board, which we did a good job of in the first half.”
As has been a consistent topic of discussion throughout the current seven-game win streak, the defensive play of Waynesburg stood out in yet another victory.
“On the defensive side, I think we did well containing the guys that we needed to contain,” said Christner. “I mean, [Ethan] Adamcyzk is really skilled and he’s really a tough match, but I thought we did a good job on their shooters for the most part.”
However, the offense, aside from the first 10 minutes, struggled at times with 20 turnovers, and there were numerous stretches of time where flow and high-percentage opportunities were few and far between. Waynesburg shot 39 percent from the floor and only 23 percent from 3-point land. A saving grace for the team was its collective 84 percent from the foul line, of which many came in rather clutch moments throughout the game.
“On the offensive side, I don’t think we played really sharp,” said Christner. “We had a ton of turnovers, and there was a lot of stuff where I think we were going a little too fast, but we had a stretch in the second half where we executed well, and we were able to get that lead up to the 12-14 points, which was key, I thought.”
Senior forward Jason Propst led the Jackets with 14 points, but he also noted the strong play from the defense as the main reason for coming out on top.
“We’ve really been working on defense for the past few games, and we’ve been stringing together good performances from the get-go,” said Propst. “We have momentum right now, and we just want to keep it going.”
The Yellow Jackets possess the opportunity to keep the momentum going, and they could not have picked a better time to be playing their best basketball of the season. The last time the Jackets were defeated was Jan. 24 in an overtime loss at Thomas More. Since that loss, Waynesburg has rattled off seven-straight victories and sit in prime position to make some noise in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Tournament, which begins Tuesday.
The Jackets earned at least one home playoff game due to the torrid stretch, as the team currently sits in second place in the PAC standings, and they are awaiting the Saint Vincent versus Thomas More result that will come on Saturday evening. If Thomas More wins, then Waynesburg earns the No. 3 seed. However, if Saint Vincent wins, then Waynesburg earns the No. 2 seed.
Despite the recent success of the Jackets, the team understands that the regular season does not mean anything once tournament play begins.
“It’s a brand new season, it’s a one-game season,” said senior wing Thomas Ellis. “We have tomorrow off, we have Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday to prepare for them. We just have to see what happens [between Thomas More and Saint Vincent] and be ready to take on whoever.”
The antithesis of Waynesburg right now is Geneva, a team that is really struggling heading into tournament play, as it is a meager 2-8 in its last 10 games played. However, regardless of the recent poor play, Geneva possesses the same frame of mind as Waynesburg heading into the conference dance.
“We want to win,” said Geneva guard Anthony Carthen. “We want to win it all. We’ve had our ups and downs and our struggles this season, but we’re a brotherhood. All families fight. Going into tough situations like playing Bethany or Thomas More, it’s all about coming in as a team and playing how we know how to play.”
As Waynesburg gears up for tournament action, Christner understands the healthy position that the team is in, and he is prepared to make a run.
“We’re going to go for it,” said Christner. “We have six guys who have been here and understand how important it is to be urgent and get stuff right. What we’ve done in the regular season now, it flips the script. I think we’re playing well, we are glad to be playing home on Tuesday, and we will see what happens.”