News Release

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. — Beau Wilson paced four Yellow Jacket players in double figures with 27 points on Thursday, as Waynesburg posted an 87-75 victory over Westminster at the Buzz Ridl Gymnasium. With the win, Waynesburg improves to 16-10 this season and will now face first-seeded Bethany in the championship game of the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Tournament on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.

Much like their win over Grove City on Tuesday, the Yellow Jackets were forced into a second-half comeback after struggling from the floor in the first half. Against the Titans, Waynesburg shot over 54 percent from the floor in the second half to outscore Westminster 56-42 in the final 20 minutes.

In the first 90 seconds of second half, Waynesburg erased a two-point halftime lead, 33-31, with eight unanswered points, including four from sophomore post Josh Parisi to take 39-33 lead.

Parisi recorded his second-straight double-double, as he finished with 15 points and a career-best 15 rebounds, including 10 offensive rebounds.

Westminster kept the game close until 6:56 left in the game when Waynesburg mounted a 14-4 run over the next three-plus minutes to take a 77-60 lead. Junior guard Marc Lodovico started the run with a three-pointer before Wilson capped the stretch with a lay-up that made the score 77-63 with 3:30 remaining.

Junior forward Jeff Nero scored five of his 20 points during the stretch. He also finished the game with eight rebounds and three assists.

Waynesburg maintained a double-digit lead until Titan guard Nick Adams hit a three-pointer with 53 seconds left to cut the lead to 81-72. The Yellow Jackets reestablished control of the game by making all six of their free throws in the final minute.

Lodovico, Nero, Parisi and Wilson all scored 13 second-half points for the Yellow Jackets, who held a +9 rebounding advantage, 52-43, in the contest. By controlling the glass, Waynesburg scored 40 of its 87 points in the paint.

Brian Faden led Westminster with 18 points, while Brian Urso added 12 points off the bench. Waynesburg limited the high-scoring Titan duo of Craig Hannon and Mark DeMonaco to just a combined 15 points - both players averaged over 20 points/game prior to the contest.

The Yellow Jackets took advantage of frequent trips to the charity stripe, making 25-of-32 attempts (78.1 percent).

Both teams struggled to gain control of the game in the first half, as Westminster held the largest lead of the half at five points. The Titans shot 32.3 percent (10 of 31), including 4 of 20 from beyond the arc, overall in the first half, while the Yellow Jacket shot just 26.8 percent during the first period.

Waynesburg, the fourth seed in the tournament, looks to upset conference powerhouse Bethany College on Saturday, Feb. 25, at 7:30 p.m. in the Hummel Field House. The Bison, who won last season's conference tournament, swept the season series with the Yellow Jackets this season.