W&J Rally Falls Short Against Saint Vincent
WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson College men’s basketball team was unable to overcome a nine-point halftime deficit as it fell to Saint Vincent 73-63 on Wednesday night at the Henry Memorial Center.
W&J (2-6, 1-2) knotted the score on two occasions during the second half, but SVC (6-2, 2-0) had an answer each time.
Chris Klimchock scored 11 of his 13 first-half points during the final 8:22 to help the Bearcats close out the half on a 22-9 run and give SVC a 36-27 edge after 20 minutes.
A pair of free throws from Klimchock extended the Bearcats advantage to 10 points at the 12:34 mark, but senior guard Zach Bellhy (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) and sophomore forward Mitch Locher (Pittsburgh, Pa./Avonworth) jump started a 12-2 run over the next five minutes to tie the game. Bellhy and Locher combined to shot 3-of-3 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free-throw stripe as both provided six points during the surge.
Isaac Turner provided the response for the Bearcats by canning a short jumper and followed with a three-point play to make the score 66-61. Locher closed the gap with a free throw, but SVC dug in defensively and held the Presidents without a field goal during the final 2:35 to hold on for the victory.
Bellhy led all scorers with 18 points (6-6 FT), while senior Ben Cecchini (Jamestown, N.Y./Jamestown) collected 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Bellhy and Cecchini both grabbed six rebounds.
Saint Vincent shot 42 percent (25-60) from the field and held a 38-31 advantage on the boards. W&J connected on nearly 38 percent (20-53) of its shots overall and nailed 20-of-24 free throws. Klimchock led the Bearcats with 16 points and four assists, while Turner collected 14 points.
W&J continues PAC play on Saturday when it travels to Thomas More for a 3:00 pm tip-off.
