Matt Popeck scores 33 points, men’s basketball downs Grove City 76-62

Saturday, Jan. 22, Waynesburg University’s Rudy Marissa Fieldhouse was full of students all in white t-shirts watching the men’s basketball team beat Grove City College 76-62. This win improves the Yellow Jackets (10-5, 6-2 PAC) record to 6-2 in the conference as they sweep Grove City (6-8, 2-5) with two victories over them this season. 

Although the Yellow Jackets came out with the win for the night, they started down 17-9 at the midpoint of the first half. Battling back at the end of the half with three foul shots in a row from senior Matt Popeck, accompanied by a layup by graduate student Nijon Kirkman, Waynesburg led the Wolverines by one point going into the second half. 

One strong suit that led Waynesburg to victory was turnovers. The Yellow Jackets only had six while forcing 18 out of Grove City. Their 18 turnovers led to 32 points for the Yellow Jackets. 

“We take care of the ball,” Waynesburg head coach Tim Fusina said. “We put an emphasis on that. Defensively we wanted to be extremely physical, have active hands on the guy with the ball, and not foul. I think we did a really good job of that tonight. I think our physicality was really good tonight, forcing them into those mistakes.”

Waynesburg shot 53% from the field in its triumph over Grove City. This offensive effort was led by Popeck and sophomore Jansen Knotts. Popeck posted 33 points on the night, and Knotts added 23 points of his own, playing every minute of the matchup. 

Kirkman also contributed with 10 points and came up with nine rebounds in the victory over the Wolverines. Sophomore Bryson Wilt pitched in with seven points and two steals. 

The second half of play was dominated by the Yellow Jackets who kept the lead for the rest of the night. 

“At halftime, we talked about contesting shots. Taking away their vision of the rim, and the rhythm of their shots,” Fusina said. “We made that adjustment throughout the game. I thought for the last 32 minutes of the game we were the more dominant team. That shows when they were up six or seven, then we took a one-point lead at the half and outscored them by 13 in the second half.”  

Popeck attributes this win along with others this season to the simple reasons that make Waynesburg successful. 

“I think our best qualities are that we play together and we play super hard all the time,” Popeck said. “I think it’s very simple, that’s what makes us good and that’s what separates us.” 

Waynesburg will travel to Pittsburgh to take on Chatham University on Monday in another PAC matchup. Due to COVID protocols, this will be the team’s first matchup against the Cougars, who are 5-1 in the conference this season. 

“We know how important it is for us to go up there, play hard, and try to get a win,” Popeck said. “We just need to stay focused and learn the game plan and know what we have to do to be successful offensively and defensively. We are confident we can win if we do that.”