HIRAM, Ohio – Chatham Men's Basketball (12-4, 7-1 PAC) scored timely baskets late in Saturday afternoon's contest against Hiram (5-12, 1-7) to take down the Terriers 62-59.
 
Senior Diaun Pinkett was the game's leading scorer with 19 points on 7-15 shooting, including 3-5 from three-point range. Senior Lovenson Xavier recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Junior Drew Vizenor netted 12 points with 2 steals for the Cougars. Senior Easton Fulmer netted 8 points off the bench on 3-7 shooting. Senior Jake TenBerge had 6 points, 6 boards and 3 assists, and graduate student Zach Genther contributed a game-high 5 assists and 2 steals for Chatham.
 
Hiram pulled ahead in the first half, leading 21-14 13 minutes in. The Cougars came back with three consecutive three-point baskets, one from Fulmer and two from Vizenor, to give themselves a 23-21 advantage. The Terriers would tie the score at 25, but two jump shots from Xavier including one that barely beat the buzzer gave Chatham a 31-27 edge at halftime.
 
Five minutes into the second half Pinkett's three-pointer gave the Cougars a 5-point cushion. Chatham failed to take control of the game, however, and Hiram went on a 14-4 run and led 51-46 with just under seven minutes remaining. The teams traded punches until the finish, with the Cougars using a 9-0 personal scoring run by Xavier to get back on top before back to-back Terrier triples put them ahead 57-55. Chatham would be undeterred, and Pinkett tied the game and TenBerge took the lead by getting to the line with just under two minutes on the clock. After Hiram knotted the score at 59, Genther found Pinkett for a clutch three-pointer, and the Cougars held on to get their seventh consecutive victory both overall and in conference play.
 
Chatham shot 39.7 percent for the game (23-58). The Terriers shot 39.3 percent (24-61) across the contest, and their 44.4 percent free-throw shooting (4-9) was the lowest by a Cougars' opponent (minimum 7 attempts) since Dec. 8, 2018.
 
Chatham will put their first-place position on the line Wednesday against Washington & Jefferson at the Athletic and Fitness Center at 7 p.m.