PITTSBURGH – Chatham Men's Basketball (23-4, 18-2) claimed the 2024-25 PAC Title with its 81-69 win over the W&J Presidents (21-7, 15-5) on Saturday in front of monstrous crowd at the Athletic and Fitness Center.

The Cougars were led by Diaun Pinkett, who finished with 21 points, six assists, three rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Pinkett was named the PAC Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Simon Boyer scored 18 points on 6-12 shooting with five rebounds and two assists. Lovenson Xavier fell just short of a double-double, finishing with 16 points and nine rebounds. Hunter Verling contributed eight points and led the game with 12 rebounds. Blaine Gartley, who finished with eight points, was also named to the All-Tournament team.

W&J opened the scoring with a layup but were unable to convert on the potential three-point play, then connected on a three, but Boyer responded with a three of his own. Xavier then netted a three of his own and added a three-point play to give the Cougars a 9-7 advantage. Xavier's dominance then switched to the defensive side, with a block turning into a fastbreak layup from Boyer. Chatham would then manufacture an extended 19-6 run, featuring two threes from Fulmer and nine points from Pinkett, to go up 30-13 with nine minutes left in the first half. A quick 9-0 run for the Presidents over 49 seconds cut it to 30-22, then Chatham increased their lead back to double digits with buckets from Pinkett and Verling. After an 8-2 run by W&J, the Cougars took a 36-30 lead into the half.

To start the second half, Chatham got a three from Boyer and a three-point play from Blaine Gartley in the opening 30 seconds. The two sides played back and forth for the next nine minutes, with the Cougars keeping the Presidents at a distance. A 7-0 Cougar run then pushed the lead to 19 with 9:46 left, but a response from the visitors came in the form of a 19-7 run to cut it to a seven-point game. That's as close as they would get, however, as the Cougars earned their third PAC title in seven years.

Chatham shot 51.7% (30-58) from the field and 36.4% (8-22) from deep. They outrebounded W&J 41-36 and scored 23 points off turnovers.

As the winner of the PAC's Championship Tournament, Chatham will receive the league's automatic qualifying bid to this year's Division III Championship Tournament. The selected Division III Championship teams, as well as the first and second round site selections, will be announced Monday, March 3rd. First and second round games are scheduled for Friday-Saturday, March 7-8.