BETHANY, W. Va. – Chatham Men's Basketball (4-3, 1-1 PAC) held off Bethany (3-7, 0-2) on Tuesday afternoon by an 86-83 scoreline to claim their first PAC victory of the season.
 
Senior Diaun Pinkett led the way with his 14th career double-double, dropping 25 points on 10-18 shooting, including 3-5 from beyond the arc, along with 12 boards and 5 steals. Sophomore Sam Norfleet IV reached double digits in the scoring column for the first time this season, knocking down 9 of 12 attempts from the field for 23 points with 4 assists. Senior Jake TenBerge also recorded a double-double for the Cougars, scoring 12 points along with 12 rebounds while shooting 3-6 from three-point range.  Senior Easton Fulmer connected on 3 of 7 triples and netted 11 points off the bench for Chatham, and senior Lovenson Xavier put up 9 points with 4 assists.

The Bison jumped out to an early 17-7 advantage by burying their first five three-point attempts. Bethany would miss its next four shots, however, and the Cougars took advantage with an 18-5 scoring run. Pinkett scored 15 points during the run in a three-minute span, putting Chatham ahead 29-24. Bethany responded with their own 17-4 scoring spree to go up 41-33, but three-point baskets by Drew Vizenor and Easton Fulmer in the dying seconds of the half pulled the Cougars within 2.
 
The Bison made their first three attempts from three-point range in the second half, and Chatham found themselves in a 54-43 hole with just under 16 minutes to go. Fulmer would then knock down a couple more shots from distance, but Bethany still led 62-55 with 11 minutes left. That's when Norfleet IV stepped in, scoring 10 consecutive points in an 18-2 Chatham scoring run that put them ahead 73-64 with six minutes remaining. The Bison would not go away after that, responding with a 12-2 outburst to them ahead with just under three minutes left on the clock. The Cougars stayed resilient, with Xavier, Norfleet IV, and Pinkett all contributing to a 7-0 run across the next minute of play that essentially put the game away. Bethany had one last attempt to send the game to overtime at the buzzer, but Chatham was able to hold on for the narrow win on the road.
 
The Bison shot a scorching 53.3% from three in the first half, but cooled off in the second to finish at 42.4% (14-33). The 14 three-point baskets were Bethany's most since Jan. 18. The Cougars shot consistently throughout the contest, knocking down 47.1% of their attempts (32-68), including 37.5% from distance (12-32). The teams traded leads nine times throughout the game before Chatham prevailed.
 
The Cougars will head to University Heights, Ohio this weekend to participate in the John Carroll classic, first taking on Pitt Bradford on Saturday at 4 p.m.