EDINBORO, Pa. (Dec. 30, 2015) – The backcourt tandem of Henri Wade-Chatman and Jaymon Mason combined for 46 points to lead Edinboro to a 78-72 win over Thiel on Wednesday night in a non-conference game at McComb Fieldhouse. The Fighting Scots enter 2016 with a 704 record, while the Tomcats dropped to 4-6.

Edinboro never trailed in the contest after scoring the first 17 points of the game. The Fighting Scots held Thiel scoreless until 13 minutes, 18 seconds remained in the first half when Clandell Cetoute made the second of two free throws.

The fast start was fueled by seven points apiece by Wade-Chatman and Mason, with Michael Beck capping the run with a 3-pointer.  Thiel, meanwhile, missed its first ten shots.

Edinboro's lead would grow to as much as 23 points at 32-9 with just under eight minutes to play in the first half. Sheldon Brogdon hit three free throws to cap a personal run of nine straight points which started with back-to-back rainbow 3-pointers. The Tomcats would cut Edinboro's lead to 43-25 at the half.
 

The second half was a different story for the Fighting Scots, however, as they were plagued by missed free throws and turnovers. At one point, Edinboro was 4-for-14 from the line in the second half, and they would finish at just 15-for-28 in the second half after going 9-for-12 at the charity stripe in the first twenty minutes. In addition, after committing just five turnovers in the first half, the Fighting Scots were guilty of 11 miscues in the second half.

Thiel scored the first six points of the second half to cut the deficit to 43-31. Edinboro would maintain a  double-figure lead until Khari Bess scored on a layup with 9:47 remaining to pull the Tomcats to within nine at 55-46.

Edinboro would bump the lead back into double figures on several occasions, but the missed free throws, turnovers, and Tommy Scales' absence began to take their toll. Scales, Edinboro's leading rebounder and third-leading scorer, went out with an injury less than two minutes into the game.

Still trailing by 13 with 2:45 to play following a Wade-Chatman layup, the Tomcats scored six points in a row to cut the lead to 69-62 with 54 seconds left. Art Cook would make a pair of free throws to build the lead back up to nine, but Bess would hit a jumper in the paint, and after a pair of misses at the line by Cook, Luke Kochka's 3-pointer made it 71-67 with 37 seconds to play.

That was as close as Thiel would get, as Wade-Chatman made a pair of free throws. Bess' layup brought the margin back to four at 73-69 with 26 seconds left, but Mason made four straight free throws to finally tame the Tomcats.

Wade-Chatman finished the night with 24 points to move into 26th place in career scoring with 1,089 points. The senior guard was a perfect 11-for-11 from the line, adding eight rebounds and four steals.

Mason added 22 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. While making 7-of-11 field goals, the redshirt sophomore guard was just 7-of-13 from the line. He came into the game ranked second in the PSAC and eighth in Division II in free throw percentage while making 63-of-67 free throws.

Brogdon came off the bench to contribute 11 points. With Scales missing from the lineup, Cook was forced to take over on the glass. The transfer from California(Pa.) pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds. Daryan Robinson added seven boards and a pair of blocked shots.

Kochka paced Thiel with 26 points, making 6-of-13 3-pointers, while adding a team-high eight rebounds. Bess was also in double figures with 13 points despite battling foul troubles.

After a hot start, Edinboro shot 43.6 percent from the floor (24-of-55) while Thiel finished  at 40.6 percent (26-of-64). The Fighting Scots ended at 24-of-40 from the free throw line, with Thiel making 12-of-23. Edinboro held a 45-39 advantage on the glass, while committing 16 turnovers, compared to 13 for Thiel.

The Fighting Scots will begin the 2016 portion of their season on Sunday, January 3 playing at Lock Haven.