Nov 13, 2017 5 min read

Waynesburg University men’s basketball coach Mark Christner has always wanted to play a tough nonconference schedule.

He believes playing tougher opponents from different parts of the country helps his team develop, rather than playing weaker teams to rack up early season wins.

The schedule for Waynesburg this season cannot start any tougher at the Division III level, as the Yellow Jackets travel to Walla Walla, Wash., to take on Whitman, D3Hoops.com’s No. 1 team in the nation, Friday at 7 p.m. (10 p.m. EST).

“The (Presidents’ Athletic Conference) has gotten better, and we want to be one of the last few teams standing. To do that, we need to know how to play in tough venues against tough teams,” Christner said. “We’ve played an Elite Eight team each of the last few years in Marietta and Alma. We’re kind of used to it a little bit. It’s good for our players, and it’s good for our program.”

Last season, Whitman started the season 31-0 before losing in the Final Four to Babson, which went on to win the D-III National Championship. The Blues scored 91.6 points per game, led by guard Tim Howell’s 20.4 points per game during his First Team All-American campaign.

Following their game against Whitman, the Yellow Jackets head about three hours north to Spokane, Wash., to play Whitworth, a consistent D-III National Tournament participant.

Whitworth, which plays in the same conference as Whitman, is 149-25 (.856) over the last six seasons. In its first game of the season, Whitworth lost by only 12 points to Montana.

Senior wing Jon Knab, who led the team in field-goal percentage, three-point percentage, points, rebounds and steals last season, said the team is excited for the opportunity to play in a time zone and against competition unfamiliar to them.

“We know these are by far the two best teams we’ll play all year,” Knab said. “We know if we can put it together against these teams, that’s a good sign heading into our PAC schedule.”

Heading into his eighth season at Waynesburg, Christner returns several starters from a team that went 6-19 overall and 4-14 in the PAC last season.

The Jackets suffered an uncanny amount of injuries and player departures, leading to a rare Christner-led team to end the conference season worse than it started. After priding themselves on being strong in February by going 17-6 in the month from 2014-16, the Jackets went 0-6 last season, ending on a seven-game losing streak.

“We had some guys that played who maybe wouldn’t have if it would’ve been a normal year,” Christner said. “Practices have been competitive, and we can utilize more of our strengths with the balance of this group.”

The Jackets bring back their top two players in Knab and senior forward Marcus Wallace. Wallace scored 11 points per game on 48.4 percent shooting, while Knab was an All-PAC Honorable Mention recipient last season, finishing third in the conference in scoring with 16 points per game.

“Jon can score it from anywhere on the floor,” Christner said. “It’s rare to have a guy that’s been as efficient as him, but I know we have some guys who can help him.”

Knab wants to step up as one of the team’s leaders this season with senior guard Kendall Paige.

“Me and Kendall are the only two guys who have seen what it’s like to be in that PAC Championship game (in the 2014-15 season) and see what it takes to get there,” Knab said. “It’s up to us as senior leaders to get us back there.”

Also returning for the Jackets are sophomore guard Frank Bozicevic and junior wing Nate Gearhart, who both played significant roles on the team last season.

Christner highlighted two freshmen who will see significant playing time right away in guard Matt Popeck, a Washington High School graduate and 1,000-point scorer, and forward Ben Vitovich, a 6-7 Johnstown native.

Popeck, along with two other first-year guards, will replace Timmy Kaiser, who led the Jackets in minutes.

“You have to be able to be coachable and be humble. Matt fits that well,” Christner said. “You have to be able to take those experiences and learn from them. College is so much different than high school.”

The Jackets were projected to finish in ninth place out of 10 teams in the PAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll. While Knab said the team realizes the rankings are more about the team’s record last season than anything else, he also said they will have an “underdog mentality” this season.

“No one outside expects us to do anything,” Knab said. “I’ve been telling the younger guys that. We’ve got to go out and put pressure on them. We know that we can compete with everyone in our conference.”