The Waynesburg University men’s basketball team lost to the hosting Whitworth University Pirates 83-53 Saturday evening, concluding its two-game weekend trip in Washington state.

Although the Yellow Jackets will return home with two losses to start off the season, head coach Mark Christner said he believes the team looks to build off the experiences it had during the trip.

“For us, learning with our younger group how we can be successful against championship-caliber teams was important,” Christner said. “We won’t play anyone else this good this year – and that’s not a [discredit] to anyone else we will play this year, [Whitman and Whitworth] are just nationally elite teams – but we have to practice finding those little successes.”

Freshman guard Matt Popeck, who finished his first collegiate game Friday with a game-high 23 points, led the Yellow Jackets in scoring for the second-straight night, finishing with 12 points.

“I think Matt’s a competitor,” Christner said. “I think he brings a spirit about him that he wants to do well, and he wants to do things right – he’s very coachable.”

Christner said Popeck did well against both Whitman and Whitworth’s elite guards.

“He’s not going to back down…even when he played two of the better guards he’ll play all year – two guys that are really talented,” Christner said. “He did a good job of holding his own and he’ll only get better.”

Senior forward Jon Knab finished with 11 points and finished second for the Yellow Jackets in rebounding. Knab’s seven rebounds came behind senior forward Mike Nugent’s game-high eight.

Christner said for the Yellow Jackets to be successful this season, Knab must play continue to play like he has in the past.

“Jon’s a really versatile player for us and we’ve asked him to do some really versatile things for us,” Christner said. “His ability to score at the rim, in the mid-range and from behind the three-point line, along with his rebounding presence, is important. Jon’s been one of our most consistent guys for the last three years. If he continues be himself, he will contribute a lot to our team.”

Senior forward Marcus Wallace, who is in his second season with the team after transferring to Waynesburg University prior to last season, added 10 points of his own.

The Pirates entered halftime with a 41-31 lead over the Yellow Jackets. The Yellow Jackets kept in the game – down only 10 points six minutes into the second half – but the Pirates finished on top 83-58 after making several runs to finish the game.

Christner said both games during the team’s weekend in Washington were more competitive than the final score shows. Although the team struggled with turnovers against Whitman and shooting against Whitworth, Christner isn’t discouraged heading into the rest of the season.

“I think our ceiling is high,” he said.

He said the team was able to improve on certain aspects of the game from Friday’s game to Saturday’s game.

A bright side of the second game, Christner mentioned, was the decrease in the Yellow Jackets’ turnovers.

“We went from 41 turnovers Friday night against Whitman to 12 turnovers Saturday night against Whitworth – that’s progress,” Christner said.

While he would still like the team to finish with fewer turnovers, he said the team’s ability to respond was a positive and will be essential throughout the season.

Christner said while the weekend trip was a long, taxing trip due to the time change, and had tough games back-to-back Friday and Saturday nights, the time the team was able to spend together was beneficial.

“A trip like this can really help galvanize a group,” Christner said. “It will help us continue to build bonds and connections that can really [bring our team close].”

Christner is looking for the team to create habits that will lead to overall success, and the sooner it is able to do that, he said, the better off it will be during crunch time near the end of the season. Another key will be the team’s consistency.

“We just have to keep our eyes long-term and we’re going to try and work towards that,” Christner said.

He said the team needs to take its experience from this trip, playing two of the top Division III teams in the country, and take the next step as the season progresses.

“Every game at the college level is good, so it’s all about how you come together,” Christner said on moving forward with the season. “We had to be exact [against these nationally-ranked teams] and we weren’t – so you learn from it.”

While the Yellow Jackets were expected to finish ninth place in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference, Christner said the team is capable is much more.

“Many people don’t expect a lot from us,” he said. “But if we get confident and play well to get a win soon, we can get rolling.”

The Yellow Jackets will play Fredonia State Wednesday evening during their home-opener. Tipoff at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse is at 5 p.m.

While the team will have a quick turnaround after arriving back to Pennsylvania early Monday morning with two days of classes Monday and Tuesday, Christner said everyone is excited for the home-opener.

“To get into our own locker room and to play in front of familiar faces at Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse, that will be good,” Christner said.