PITTSBURGH, Pa. - January 27, 2024 - Chatham Men's Basketball (12-8, 10-5) clawed their way to a 58-48 victory over the Barons of Franciscan (7-12, 4-11) on Saturday at the Athletics and Fitness Center. The Cougars allowed their lowest point total of the season (48) in the win.

Sophomore guard Diaun Pinkett was the catalyst for the Cougars, with 24 points on 9-11 shooting, 12 rebounds and three steals. Pinkett ranks third in the PAC with 8.5 rebounds per game. Senior guard Simon Boyer scored nine points and grabbed four rebounds, while graduate forward Elijah Sutton did a little bit of everything, tallying six points, six rebounds, five assists, four blocks and two steals. Junior guard Zach Genther had a season-high eight points on 3-6 shooting, including 2-5 from deep.

Both offenses struggled in the first half as the Cougars led 15-9 after the first 13 minutes. The Barons closed the half on a 14-5 run to take a 23-20 lead into the break. Chatham started the second half with an extended 21-7 run which included 11 points from Pinkett. Franciscan used an 8-2 run in response to cut the Chatham lead to five, but the Barons would not come any closer as the Cougars went 4-5 from the field and 6-8 from the line down the stretch to shut the door.

Chatham shot 40% (20-50) from the floor, but struggled from deep at just 20% (4-20). Franciscan shot no better, going 28.6% (4-14) from downtown and 0-6 from the charity stripe. The Cougars forced 17 turnovers and had 22 points off turnovers.

Men's Basketball will hit the road Wednesday to take on Thiel College in Greenville.