The Waynesburg University Yellow Jackets men’s basketball team split their two games this past week, losing to Washington & Jefferson College (93-63) at home and defeating Geneva College (62-43) on the road.

In the W&J game, Waynesburg took the early lead twice in the first four minutes, but after Washington & Jefferson’s 10-0 run, they never looked back, bringing a 48-31 lead to the halftime break.

“We need to get off to some better starts early in games,” senior guard Scott Bilovus said. “It becomes impossible to consistently win when you have to come back from margins so often.”

Bilovus led all Yellow Jackets with 13 points; he also shot 4-for-6 from three.

Junior forward Jackson Rhodes racked up 11 points, shooting 1-for-3 from deep.

“We were prepared for how they were going to play, but we just didn’t execute the gameplan and take away their strengths,” Rhodes said. “We need to rely on our defense to create our offense.”

W&J began the second half with a 19-2 run in the first eight minutes to put the game out of reach. By that point, Waynesburg was down by as many as 34 points.

Alex Acosta and Nathan Plotner led the game with 15 points each for the Presidents. Acosta finished one rebound away from a double-double performance.

W&J outscored Waynesburg 58-26 in the paint. The Presidents also capitalized on the Yellow Jackets’ turnovers, outscoring them 22-7 off turnovers alone.

However, the Yellow Jackets would bounce back against Geneva.  

Waynesburg held the Golden Tornadoes to 29% from the floor. The Yellow Jackets controlled the pace for the last 20-minutes, limiting Geneva to only 14 points in the paint. 

“We guarded really well and had great defensive positioning all night,” head coach Tim Fusina said. “It’s what we have talked about since October, so when our game plan is followed, we can be pretty good.” 

Waynesburg’s top scorer, Casey Keesee, scored 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Rhodes played all 40 minutes and finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.

Before Waynesburg took a slim lead in halftime, there were several lead changes and three ties. Midway in the second half, the Yellow Jackets established a double-digit lead and shot 46.9% from the field as they found their offensive rhythm. 

“The chemistry of the team has been growing,” Rhodes said. “We just need to keep playing together and trust each other, playing our role.”

Fusina also commended Rhodes’ efforts on both sides of the floor. 

“It’s not ideal playing someone for 40 minutes, but we needed to win the game, and him on the floor gave us our best chance,” Fusina said. “He does a great job on both ends.” 

Waynesburg finished with a 42–38 rebounding edge, scored 34 points inside the paint, and had Geneva commit 11 turnovers.

“The defensive end was a key for us, switching aggressively into the ball, and defensive rebounding is going to be huge for us moving forward,” Rhodes said. 

Up next, Waynesburg hosts Bethany this Wednesday with a 5 p.m. scheduled tip-off.