News Release

WASHINGTON, Pa. — Junior guard Jon Koch (New Kensington, Pa./Plum) scored 26 points, including the 1,300th of his career, and added six rebounds to help Washington & Jefferson clinch the No. 2 seed for next week’s Presidents’ Athletic Conference Tournament following an 88-66 victory over Thomas More on Wednesday evening at the Henry Memorial Center.

The Saints (2-23, 2-10 PAC) held the lead for a majority of the first half, including a 21-16 advantage at the 9:14 mark following R.K. Thurman’s lay-up.

Junior forward Matt Vorndran (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) gave W&J its first lead of the contest after hitting a pair of foul shots with 2:23 remaining and sophomore guard Mike Gutowski (Tampa, Fla./Jesuit) added a pair of free throws two minutes later to push W&J’s halftime lead to 35-29.

The Saints started the second half on a 9-0 run to take the lead back, 38-35, but a 16-6 W&J run over the next six minutes put the Presidents in control. Koch scored nine points during the run to pace the Presidents.

Thomas More trailed 57-53 with 8:54 left in the contest, but Koch and junior guard Brandon Studer (Johnstown, Pa./Conemaugh Valley) both netted a pair of buckets during a three-minute span which pushed the advantage to 70-57 with 5:48 remaining and W&J cruised to the win.

Koch made 9-of-20 shots from the field, while Studer added 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Sophomore center Tony Lewis (Mayfield Hts., Ohio/Orange) also netted 12 points and grabbed eight boards. W&J shot 44 percent (31-of-70) and held a 41-32 edge on the glass.

Thurman paced the Saints with 18 points and nine boards, while E.J. Haynes posted 14 points and six rebounds. Thomas More connected on 43 percent (23-of-53) from the floor, but committed 18 turnovers.

Washington & Jefferson concludes its regular-season schedule on Saturday at Grove City (3:00 pm).