For a few moments, it looked like sophomore guard Frank Bozicevic’s mistake could cost the Waynesburg University men’s basketball team Saturday afternoon against Westminster.

With 18 seconds left and the Jackets leading 86-84, Bozicevic stepped out of bounds, giving the Titans a chance to tie the game—which they took advantage of less than 10 seconds later with a layup by sophomore guard Cameron-Kane Johnson.

But just seconds before the final buzzer sounded, it was Bozicevic who split through the defense and set up senior forward Marcus Wallace for the game-winning layup, breaking an eight-game losing streak for the Yellow Jackets—which began at Westminster Jan. 6—with an 88-86 win at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse.

For head coach Mark Christner, the play was a testament to the strides Bozicevic has made in his time with the Yellow Jackets.

“[Bozicevic] has really grown into his ability to make plays,” Christner said. “I think he sees the floor really well. We practice [the end of game] scenario frequently. So when they make a basket, we want to get down the court, and we want to see what they have, and Frank made an awesome play. As soon as he split those guys at [half court], I felt that we were going to have an opportunity to get a great shot.”

Bozicevic said that it was one of the highlights of his career.

“[It was] definitely one of [my top moments],” Bozecivic said. “It just helps because it was at home and the crowd was great, and it was a big, meaningful win for us. So this was definitely one of the top moments of my career so far.”

Despite 19 first-half points from freshman guard Matt Popeck, the Jackets entered halftime down 44-41. Kane-Johnson and junior guard Austin Armwood combined for 26 of Westminster’s 44 first-half points, with Armwood scoring 14 and Kane-Johnson 12.

When the second half started, the Titans began to pull away. After less than five-and-half minutes had gone by, the Jackets found themselves down 62-47. It looked like another bitter defeat could be looming. For Christner, the team had the choice of either lying down or keeping up the fight.

“We just kind of reminded our guys that we’ve been in these situations before,” Christner said. “So you have two choices: you’re either going to kind of give in, or you’re going to keep plugging away. Obviously, our guys decided to keep plugging away.”

The Jackets gradually cut into the lead, and finally got to within one possession on a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Sam Heeter with a little over four minutes remaining. Waynesburg pulled in front on a 3-pointer by Popeck with 39 seconds left, and retook the lead for good on Wallace’s layup with three seconds on the clock.

The two biggest contributors for Waynesburg offensively were Popeck and senior guard Jon Knab, who accounted for 54 of Waynesburg’s points, with Popeck ending with a season-high 30 and Knab scoring 24 – 18 of which coming in the second half. Popeck, who scored just eight points and was 4-11 from the field in the Jackets’ 77-70 loss to St. Vincent the previous Wednesday, tries to make getting his teammates active a priority.

“I just tried to involve all my teammates, because I knew that if I [got them involved], it would put us in a position to win,” Popeck said. “So I just play every game to try to win.”

For Christner, both Popeck’s confidence and his ability to be wise with his shot selection are key to his progression.

“[Popeck] knows he can play,” Christner said. “That’s part of the attraction with him…I thought he saw the floor really well, I didn’t think he forced a lot of shots today. I think that for him, that’s the most important thing.”

Four Westminster players ended the day in double figures. Armwood and Kane-Johnson finished with 25 and 19 points, respectively, while seniors Jarret Vrabel and Deontay Scott added 16 and 12.

For Wallace, who scored just two points before his game-winner, the feeling of Waynesburg getting a boost outweighed the individual elation of his heroics.

“That was the first game-winner of my life, so it was pretty exciting,” Wallace said. “I’m really just happy that we got that win. It was just a great momentum win for our team. So that’s what I’m really happy about.”

This season hasn’t been easy for Wallace. After averaging 11 points-per-game as a junior, he’s scored in double figures just four times in 20 appearances thus far. With four regular-season games left, Christner hopes that Wallace’s heroics will give him a spark down the stretch.

“I hope it propels him to a great last couple of weeks, and hopefully into the postseason,” Christner said. “He’s a hard-working kid. He has a great personality, and I’d love to see him finish well.”

With the win, Waynesburg is 8-13 overall and 4-10 in Presidents’ Athletic Conference play, while Westminster is 15-6 overall and 9-5 in the PAC. The Jackets are tied with Thiel for seventh in the PAC, and two games ahead of Chatham and Washington & Jefferson for a playoff spot. For Christner, consistency will be essential for the Jackets to make a run.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Christner said. “One of the things we always try to be is consistent. We want to be consistent in our approach to games. We want to have [assertiveness] in what we do… So that’s the most important thing.”