Waynesburg Defeats Beaver in CRONS Classic

On Friday, Nov. 21 the Waynesburg University Yellow Jackets defeated the Penn State Beaver Nittany Lions, 80-75, at the CRONS Tournament at Pittsburgh's La Roche College. 

Beaver took an early lead with jump shots by Zach Fetchin (Hopewell High School, Aliquippa, PA) giving the Lions a quick 9-7 advantage at the 15-minute mark of the first half which featured 5 ties and 9 lead changes. The Yellow Jackets finishd the half on a 5-0 run because of Larry Alexander's defense and free throw shooting which gave Waynesburg a slim 34-29 halftime advantage.

Fetchin scored the first 4 points of the second half, bringing the game to 34-34. The game remained close until the Lions took their biggest lead of the game, 52-46 on a Fetchin jumper with 12:46 on the clock. Costly turnovers allowed Waynesburg to take their biggest lead of the game, 66-59, with 5:55 left on a Colby-Grubich layup but, once again, Beaver tied the game for the eleventh time that night with 3:57 remaining. Fetchin converted critical free throws down the stretch (6 for 6).

"Turnovers really cost us tonight. We need to do a better job of valuing the basketball." said Head Coach Marcess Williams. "On a positive note, I think we shot the ball pretty well (48.2% for the game) and made most of our free throws (16-21), too. Hopefully, we can regroup, limit our turnovers, and have a great game against Thiel tomorrow."

Junior Zach Fetchin led all scorers with 25 points. Sophomore David McGarry (Poland Seminary High School / Walsh University) led the team with 6 rebounds while Tim Kubis (Hopewell High School, Aliquippa, PA) and McGarry each had 3 assists. Sophomore Billy Stoughton (Slippery Rock High School, Slippery Rock, PA) chipped in shooting 3-5 (60%) from behind the arc.

The Beaver Nittany Lions go up against the Thiel College Tomcats at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22 at La Roche College, Pittsburgh.