The teams battled to five ties through the first 14 minutes of the contest until a 12-3 W&J spurt gave the Presidents a 38-28 lead with 42 seconds remaining in the first half. Sophomore guard Jon Koch (New Kensington, Pa./Plum) buried a pair of three-pointers during the run for W&J (2-5).
Union sliced the lead to 38-33 at halftime after Chris Murphy knocked down a triple just before the halftime buzzer.
The second half went back-and-forth as well as six ties highlighted the first 13 minutes. Sophomore guard Brandon Studer (Johnstown, Pa./Conemaugh Valley) hit a trey at the 4:23 mark to put the Presidents ahead 66-61, but Joe Mackey answered with a three-pointer for the Dutchmen (2-4) just 48 seconds later.
Koch nailed another trifecta on the Presidents’ next possession to up the advantage back to five points (69-64) and Washington & Jefferson made all eight of its free throws in the final minute to seal the win.
Koch scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds for W&J, while sophomore forward Matt Vorndran (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) added 13 points and five boards. Studer dropped in 12 points and junior point guard Chris Sheehan (Rocky River, Ohio/Rocky River) totaled 12 points, four assists and three rebounds.
W&J shot 48 percent (25-of-52) from the field and made 14-of-15 free throw attempts. The Presidents also held a 33-29 edge on the glass.
Brian Scordato led the Dutchmen with 17 points and eight rebounds. John Cagianello added 12 points, including the 1,000th of his career. Union shot 40 percent (23-of-57).
Washington & Jefferson travels to Huntingdon, Pa., on Wednesday for a 7:00 pm game versus Juniata.