PITTSBURGH – Chatham Men's Basketball (14-3, 11-1) escaped with a 92-90 victory over the W&J Presidents on Wednesday night at the Athletic and Fitness Center.

Simon Boyer led the way with 26 points on 9-17 shooting, including 5-10 from beyond the arc. Lovenson Xavier put up 13 points with six rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block. Drew Vizenor scored 12 points in just 10 minutes of action, all coming from three-pointers. Diaun Pinkett posted 11 points on 5-9 shooting with seven assists, four steals and three rebounds. Hunter Verling dropped 10 points and led the game with eight boards.

Both offenses started hot as the Presidents led 17-11 at the first media timeout. The W&J offense kept its foot on the gas, holding a nine-point lead with 9:42 left in the first half, but Chatham cut away at the deficit and took the lead with a 21-10 run that featured five triples, including four from Vizenor. The Cougars would go into halftime holding a 48-45 lead after getting layups from Xavier and Pinkett in the final minute of the period.

In the second half, the Presidents began with a 6-2 swing to take a one-point lead, but the Cougars countered with an 8-2 run that ended with back-to-back treys from Boyer. W&J was able to take the lead back with a 9-3 run at 13:00 before another triple from Boyer flipped the advantage once more. The two teams stayed neck and neck and combined for 55 points in the final 13 minutes. With 54 seconds left, Chatham lead 90-85, but W&J connected on a three, then stole an inbounds pass and tied the game at 90 with two free throws. In the closing seconds, Pinkett missed a layup, but Blaine Gartley pulled down the offensive rebounds and found Verling open, who missed as the buzzer sounded. However, goaltending was called on the floor and confirmed after a lengthy review, which gave Chatham the win.

Both offenses shot well, with the Cougars at 56.5% (35-62) and the Presidents at 55.2% (32-58). Chatham shot 48% (12-25) from deep, while W&J shot 53.3% (8-15). The Cougars outrebounded the Presidents 29-27 and collected 11 steals, while each team blocked four shots.

Chatham Men's Basketball will return to action at the AFC on Saturday when they host the Allegheny Gators.