Feb 13, 2014 By Jacob Meyer staff Writer 4 min read

“Play hard. Play for your teammates.”

These subtle, yet simple words calmly came from the mouth of head coach Mark Christner in a vital part of the game Wednesday against Thiel.

The Yellow Jackets (12-11, 7-7) led at halftime by five, yet squandered it in a mere five minutes to begin the second half. The Tomcats (8-12, 5-8) started the second half on a 10-0 run to go up by five.

Christner was not the happiest man in the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse at that moment, as he called a timeout, sat his players down and yelled at them. He then paused. He took a deep breath and uttered those six words.

That is exactly what Waynesburg did for the next 15 minutes to pull out a 62-59 roller-coaster of a win.

Freshman Christian Koroly, who had 10 points and five rebounds, gave the Jackets a huge spark off the bench going four-for-five from the field.

Junior Forwards Jason Propst and Jacob Fleegle had the tough task of taming 6’6” Tomcat forward Eric Mallinger.

When the Jackets traveled to Thiel earlier this season and won in overtime, Mallinger had a freakish game with 17 points, seven rebounds and six blocks. Wednesday, Mallinger was contained to 10 points, six rebounds and three blocks.

“The thing with Mallinger is he’s really mobile and crafty,” Christner said. “We did a good job holding him to 10 points [and] really tried to make it difficult in terms of him catching it in the post.”

Waynesburg was down six points with roughly seven minutes remaining when it went on a huge 12-0 run. The run put the turned the tables on the Tomcats and put the Jackets up six with three minutes to go.

Propst had four points during the run, including a put-back off an offensive rebound.

“I thought he [Propst] played really well,” Christner said. “His line isn’t going to be overwhelmingly awesome, but he made some big shots in the second half. Defensively, he did a great job altering things and his energy was really positive.”

Christner knows the importance of how momentum and flow can change the outcome of a 40-minute battle.

“You have to be able to [go on runs],” Christner said. “It’s a combination of defense – we forced 23 turnovers, rebounding and then having some junction at some point to string a few made baskets together. We also had great energy from our crowd, which we’ve had all year, and that helps.”

Then came the roller-coaster that was the last minute of the game for guard B.J. Durham.

Durham had a great day coming off the bench scoring 13 points, nine of which came on 3-pointers. One of those threes seemed to seal the game, but that was not the case.

With about a minute left, Durham hit his third 3-pointer of the night to put the Jackets up six, make the crowd go crazy and as it seemed, seal the game.

After a quick bucket by Thiel, the pressured inbound pass came Durham’s way. He bobbled it and the ball rolled out of bounds.

That roller-coaster that shot up in the sky when his three swished through the net came crashing down when the ball went out of bounds.

“[Christner’s] philosophy all year has just been keep your head up [and] stay on a straight line,” said Durham. “Don’t get too down, but don’t get too high up either. After I had that turnover I didn’t hang my head at all. I knew was I going to make a play.”

Christner said his team is all about overcoming adversity, which the Jackets did in the waning moments of regulation. After a timeout, Thiel went to inbound the ball. The errant pass hit the floor, and with the ball rolling on the ground towards the sideline, Durham sprinted, dove full-extension and in one graceful motion, hit the ground and scooped the ball to fellow guard E.J. Coleman. Coleman hit one of two foul shots to seal the win for Waynesburg.

With the win, Waynesburg still has a chance to host a first-round Presidents’ Athletic Conference Tournament game. The Jackets are back in action Saturday at home against Westminster, with a scheduled tip of 3:30 p.m.