The Lions took advantage of the poor WC shooting in the opening minutes, staking a 19-11 lead with 10:08 left in the first half. The Yellow Jackets responded with a 14-0 run over the next five minutes, including six points from athletic junior Jeff Nero, who finished the game with six dunks.
Nero scored a team-high 14 points on 7 of 10 shooting against the Lions, who fell to 2-8. The forward also added four steals and four rebounds in 23 minutes of play.
With 6:08 left in the first period, Nero gave Waynesburg its initial lead of the game, 20-19 – a lead which it would never relinquish. The Yellow Jackets expanded the lead to 32-24 at halftime thanks to their 18 points in the paint. Nero and fellow junior forward Shawn Coleman each scored eight first-half points.
Coleman and guard Marc Lodovico each finished the game with 12 points.
The Lion defense limited Waynesburg’s leading scorer, Beau Wilson, to just two points in the contest, but the veteran guard engineered the Yellow Jacket offense with a season-high eight assists, which ties his single-game career high.
WC jumped out to a double-digit lead in the early part of the second half before PSU-New Kensington closed the deficit to nine points, 42-33. Waynesburg promptly responded with a 15-6 run over the next six-plus minutes capped off with a fast-break dunk by Nero which gave the Yellow Jackets a 57-39 lead.
The Yellow Jacket defense forced 24 Lion turnovers, which they efficiently converted into 30 points and lead to 24 fast-break points.
Waynesburg stretched its lead to as much as 31 points in the second half, 78-47, after going on a 15-2 run in five-plus minutes with its reserves. The Yellow Jacket bench, led by 12 points from Coleman, finished the game with 39 points, while no Lion reserve managed a bucket.
In the second half, WC shot an impressive 61 percent (22 of 36) from the field, while PSU-New Kensington’s three-point shooting (6 of 22) hampered its chances of a potential comeback.
The Lions were led by Dominick Logan, who registered a double-double with game highs in points (27) and rebounds (10).
Waynesburg closes out the 2005 portion of its schedule on Wednesday, Dec. 21, when it travels to face Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio at 7:30 p.m. The Muskies have won eight of the 10 all-time meetings against the Yellow Jackets, but the two programs have not faced each other since the 1990-91 season.
Newspaper Box Score Waynesburg College vs PSU-New Kensington 12-19-05 7 p.m. at New Kensington, Pa. At New Kensington, Pa. WAYNESBURG COLLEGE 78, PSU-NEW KENSINGTON 53 WAYNESBURG COLLEGE (5-3) Jeff Nero 7-10 0-0 14; Marc Lodovico 5-8 1-1 12; Shawn Coleman 5-9 2-4 12; Ryan Bujnowski 3-6 0-1 6; Chris Moore 3-5 0-0 6; Josh Parisi 2-3 1-2 5; Tim Drakeley 2-4 0-0 5; Jeff Linden 2-5 0-0 4; Dan Happe 2-5 0-0 4; Jered Gamble 1-2 2-2 4; Colby Grubich 1-1 0-0 2; George Wasik 1-1 0-0 2; Beau Wilson 0-3 2-2 2; Kenny Riddell 0-0 0-0 0; Jason Clark 0-1 0-0 0; Josh Engle 0-0 0-0 0; Andy Erjavek 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 34-64 8-12 78. PSU-NEW KENSINGTON (2-8) Dominick Logan 10-18 3-4 27; Nick Gentile 5-9 0-0 11; Neville Ferguson 3-9 2-2 9; Rob Cugini 2-7 0-0 4; Bill Kane 1-6 0-0 2; Lacy Ponsart 0-3 0-2 0; Phil Stolitza 0-2 0-0 0; Cody Clarke 0-0 0-0 0; Ben Hinton 0-0 0-0 0; Brad Naedele 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-54 5-8 53. Waynesburg College............ 32 46 - 78 PSU-New Kensington............ 24 29 - 53 3-point goals-Waynesburg College 2-13 (Marc Lodovico 1-2; Tim Drakeley 1-2; Ryan Bujnowski 0-1; Chris Moore 0-1; Dan Happe 0-1; Jered Gamble 0-1; Beau Wilson 0-3; Jeff Nero 0-2), PSU-New Kensington 6-22 (Dominick Logan 4-8; Neville Ferguson 1-4; Nick Gentile 1-3; Lacy Ponsart 0-2; Phil Stolitza 0-2; Bill Kane 0-2; Rob Cugini 0-1). Fouled out--Waynesburg College-None, PSU-New Kensington-Rob Cugini. Rebounds-Waynesburg College 33 (Ryan Bujnowski 8), PSU-New Kensington 32 (Dominick Logan 10). Assists-Waynesburg College 19 (Beau Wilson 8), PSU-New Kensington 10 (Nick Gentile 3; Dominick Logan 3). Total fouls-Waynesburg College 15, PSU-New Kensington 10. Waynesburg first lead of the game with 14-0 with 4:52 left in the first half. Waynesburg scored 30 points off 24 PSU-New Kensington turnovers Waynesburg scored 24 fast-break points and 54 points in the paint Wilson (WAY) sets season and ties career high with eight assits