WASHINGTON, Pa. – January 19, 2022 – In a battle between the two top teams in the Presidents' Athletic Conference according to record, the Chatham Cougars held off the hosting Washington & Jefferson Presidents 85-80 in an exciting affair. The win improves Chatham's record to 9-1 overall, 4-1 in PAC play and first place in the conference.
 
A back-and-forth first half ended saw the Cougars take an early lead before being surrendered to the Presidents in the middle stages of the half. Chatham battled back from a deficit as much as 11 points, ending the half on an 11-0 run to take a 34-29 halftime lead.
 
The second half saw Chatham increase its lead on numerous occasions, a lead that it would not relinquish for the remainder of the contest. The largest advantage was 16 points with 4:15 remaining in the game, but the Presidents would make a late charge. W&J was able to get to within three with 13 seconds left, but a pair of free throws with one second left put the game away for good.
 
The Cougars shot better in both halves than the opposition, finishing at 45% from the floor including 12 made triples on 40% from beyond the arc. Another big key was free throw shooting, as the Cougars made 79% of their foul shots while W&J made just 59%.
 
The leading scorer was senior Malik Potter at 24 points with five made threes. Junior Marcos Cintron had 19 points, including a crucial three-point shot with 23 seconds remaining in the contest. Senior Ben Pollock had another fantastic game with a 19-point, 14-rebound double-double and tied the single-game blocks record with five. With his five swipes, Pollock became the program's all-time leader in blocks with 42.
 
The Cougars return home on Saturday, January 22 with a rematch against Saint Vincent, tipping off at 7:00.