The Waynesburg University men’s basketball team will have a chance at redemption.

The Yellow Jackets, who were on a seven-game losing streak going into their game against Saint Vincent College last night, which finished past publication time, will have the opportunity to avenge their loss to Presidents’ Athletic Conference rival Westminster College earlier in the season.

The Yellow Jackets, 7-12 and 3-9 in conference games, will host the Titans, 14-5 overall and 8-4 in conference games, Saturday at Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse.

In the first meeting between the two teams Jan. 6, the Titans started with the hot hand, jumping to a 22-12 lead with 10:40 left in the half, but a run by Waynesburg put the Yellow Jackets ahead 40-30 at halftime.

However, the Titans would use two 11-0 runs and momentum to finish ahead of the Yellow Jackets 91-73.

Head coach Mark Christner said following the game against Saint Vincent, the Yellow Jackets will get into their normal rhythm of recovery and film in preparation for their Saturday game. Christner said Saint Vincent and Westminster are alike when it comes from the production of their offense.

“They’re very similar to Saint Vincent as in they have solid and experienced post players,” Christner said. “We’ll have to guard them inside out because of their strong forces in the post.”

The Titans post players, seniors Deontay Scott and Jarret Vrabel made their presence in the paint known on both ends of the court.

Scott finished with a game and career-high 26 points and a team-high 11 rebounds and Vrabel recorded 11 points, four rebounds and one block. Junior Marco Delorenzo also added 23 points and eight rebounds of his own from his wing position. The Titans finished the game with 48 rebounds, compared to the Yellow Jackets’ 32.

Christner said the team needs to match the Titans’ physicality both inside with Scott and Vrabel and on the perimeter with Delorenzo.

“Both of their post guys (Scott and Vrabel) are guys who have been in the program for a while and been through the process and are now experiencing some success,” Christner said. “We need to keep them off the boards and keep their [offensive] touches difficult. We also have to be ready for their quick trigger from the outside.”

While Christner said there are a couple things the team will do differently – mostly defensively in the post – but for the most part, the preparation will be the same as it was for the first game against the Titans.

He said the tough part about defending the Titans’ offense is their ability to attack the hoop from all positions.

“We’re going to come up with a good plan and try to execute that plan…when it all comes down to it, we want to do stuff better than the other guy,” Christner said on executing against opponents’ strategies.

For the Yellow Jackets offensively, Christner said the team needs to find a consistency. He said there are several times throughout the season where players have not made shots Christner has seen them make many times in past games and in practices.

The Yellow Jackets were close with the Titans in the turnover and steal categories – 17 turnovers to the Titans’ 18 and 8 steals to the Titans’ 10 – the difference in shooting percentage is what sticks out. The Titans finished with an overall shooting percentage of 51 percent, going 34-for-67, while the Yellow Jackets finished with a shooting percentage of 39 percent, going 26-for-66.

Christner said the team also needs to limit the turnovers offensively, which resulted in part of the large runs the Titans pulled off.

“I think the important thing is to stay in the moment,” Christner said on playing through an opponent’s run. “We can’t get too high when playing well or too low when we are struggling.”

Senior wing Jon Knab – who Christner said is now experiencing his “second wind” at this point in the season – had 22 points in the first meeting, which was followed by freshman guard Matt Popeck’s 15 points.

Christner said while Knab is a key member of the team’s attack due to his ability to both score and rebound effectively, he said every member off the team is as important as the other.

“We’ll need everybody – production from the bench and the five spot with Ben and Mike,” he said. “We need to trust each other and be confident.”

While being consistent on offense is one of the team’s focus points, Christner said his players don’t need to do too much individually because if everyone executes their own role then the team will collectively find success.

“Our guys have put the work in mentally and physically,” Christner said. “There is no burden on the thought of the past – we just want to play our best basketball.”