The Bearcats came out on top in a defensive struggle with Washington & Jefferson, defeating the Presidents 61-53 at the Carey Center.

Saint Vincent's Joey Butler led all scorers with 21 points, while the Bearcat defense forced 20 W&J turnovers and held the President shooters to just 31 percent (18-57) from the field.

SVC came charging out of the gate, jumping out to a 13-5 lead seven minutes into play, and then used a 10-2 run over the middle portion of the half to jump ahead 27-10 on an Andy Ostach basket with just under five minutes left.

It was then W&J's turn for a run, as the Presidents scored the final 10 points of the half to make the score 27-20 at the intermission.

The Bearcats quickly pushed their lead back into double digits after halftime, scoring 10 of the first 13 points of the second stanza, capped off with a pair of Butler free throws to put SVC up 36-23 with 15 minutes left.

Six minutes later, the Bearcats enjoyed their largest lead of the night, 46-30, after back-to-back buckets from Mike Medved and Butler.

The Presidents again fought back, closing the deficit to single digits, at 53-46, with just over three minutes left.  The Bearcats then killed the clock, holding the ball for over two minutes on one possession after getting a trio of offensive rebounds.  However, SVC couldn't capitalize on the scoreboard, and, after a three from W&J's Wahab Owolabi moments later, the Presidents pulled to within five, at 57-52, with just under a minute left.

It was as close as the visitors would get, however, as they were forced to foul, and the Bearcats hit five free throws over the final 30 seconds of the game to seal the win.  SVC was stellar from the charity stripe all night, connecting on 18 of 19 free throws for the game, good for 95 percent.

The Bearcats also recorded a season-high nine blocked shots in the game, with Medved and McCollough leading the way with three each.  McCollough also registered four steals and a team-high nine rebounds.

W&J (5-9) was led by Josip Lucic-Jozak, who recorded a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.  Owolabi added 13 points and nine boards in the loss.   

With the win, the Bearcats improve to 11-3 on the season, and return to action on Saturday with a 3pm contest at Grove City. 

PHOTO (By Brittany Concepcion): SVC's Mike Medved in action in SVC's 61-53 win over Washington & Jefferson