So far this season, the Waynesburg University men’s basketball team hasn’t been known for its offense.

Coming into a non-conference matchup with Hilbert Dec. 19 at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse, the Yellow Jackets had scored over 70 points just twice in seven games and only broke 80 once in an 89-81 loss to Fredonia Nov. 22. The offense, which ranks eighth out of 10 Presidents’ Athletic Conference [PAC] teams in scoring average, clicked against the Hawks, however. Senior guard Jon Knab led the way with 27 points—his high mark for the season—and Waynesburg held on for an 80-74 win.

Head coach Mark Christner believes that the Jacket offense is capable of being prolific. For Christner, both teams moving away from conference opponents could have been a cause for a more offensive-oriented game.

“I think we’re still trying to figure out what our identity is,” Christner said. “I think that we are a team that can score…you play league teams, and there’s some familiarity that’s there. We haven’t played Hilbert in [a long time], so there’s [less familiarity] on both ends of the floor.”

The Jackets trailed 40-39 at halftime. Although Waynesburg shot over 53 percent from the field in the first half and was 5-6 from the foul line, Hilbert kept pace, shooting 60 percent in the first 20 minutes. Sophomore guard Masia Phillips led the Hawks with 13 points in the first half, while senior David Arlaud had 10. Phillips finished the game with 19 points, and Arlaud ended with 11. For Waynesburg, Knab led the way in the first half with 14 points.

Led by 13 more points from Knab in the second half, the Jackets outscored the Hawks 41-34 to win the game.

“[Knab] knows he’s good, and he does some things that nobody else can do,” Christner said. “He can take a loose ball. He has some long strides and he can outrun guys. He was able to get in transition a little bit. I think the basket became big for him as the second half went on, and that was good.”

Knab finished the night 10-16 from the field and 5-8 on three-pointers. He also had five rebounds and a game-high six steals. Knab was one of only two Jackets to score in double-figures, with freshman guard Matt Popeck contributing 10 points.

Senior guard Kendall Paige led Waynesburg in rebounds with eight and assists with four, while senior forward Mike Nugent grabbed six boards. Collectively, Waynesburg outrebounded Hilbert 38-30. Christer was pleased with winning the battle of the boards, especially given Hilbert’s strength in rebounding, particularly offensively.

“The biggest thing that we wanted to try to limit was their offensive rebounding,” Christner said. “I thought they were one of the better offensive rebounding teams we have played in a couple of years, to be honest. I thought we did a really good job [in rebounding].”

For Hilbert, sophomore guard Hunter Martineau and junior forwards Joseph Braniecki and Nicholas Parucki also scored in double-figures, with Martineau scoring 12 and Braniecki and Parucki each contributing 11 respectively. Martineau also led the Hawks in rebounds and assists with seven of each.

As a team, Waynesburg ended the night shooting over 47 percent overall and was 7-24 from three, while Hilbert shot 49 percent from the field and was 3-10 from beyond-the-arc.

With the win, the Jackets are now 3-5 on the season, while Hilbert is 6-4.

For Christner, Hilbert tested his team the way it was expected to, and the Jackets were more fortunate offensively than they had been recently.

“I think that they were all that they were advertised to be,” Christner said. “Really good offensively, and I think defensively they had some athletes as well. It was good for our guys. We haven’t felt like we’ve ‘made it’ probably in a couple of weeks, either. I think we’ve had some good shots that we didn’t make, so tonight it was good to feel like we got a few in.”