STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – Chatham Men's Basketball (14-7, 9-4 PAC) dropped back-to-back games for the second time this season, falling 77-56 to Franciscan (17-5, 9-4 PAC).
 
Zach Oliver led the Barons with a game-high 17 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. Zachary Pollaro scored 13 points on 5-7 shooting. Sawyer Butler, Karl Yonkeu, and Anthony Covetta all contributed 10 points for the Barons. Butler added 8 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals, and Yonkeu blocked a game-high 4 shots while shooting 5-5.
 
Senior Diaun Pinkett was the Cougars' leading scorer with 16 points on 6-10 shooting and also had a game-high 4 assists and 2 steals. Junior Drew Vizenor netted 10 points for Chatham. Graduate student Zach Genther and senior Easton Fulmer both scored 6 points. Senior Jake TenBerge pulled down a team-high 8 rebounds with 2 blocks.
 
The game was tightly contested in the first half, with Fulmer's bucket plus the foul tying the score at 21. Genther's three-point basket gave the Cougars a 26-23 lead, then Vizenor's triple put Chatham back up by 3 with just over three minutes left in the half. Pinkett's layup with five seconds left in the half put the Cougars up by 3 at the break.
 
Pinkett's layup a minute into the second half gave Chatham a 35-32 advantage, but it would be the Cougars' final lead of the game. The Barons went on a 12-0 scoring run over the next four minutes, and extended the run to 18-2 across seven minutes of action. Pinkett hit a hook shot to cut the Chatham deficit to 50-40, but Franciscan would not stop scoring. A 17-3 Baron run pushed their lead to as much as 28 points, and a 10-3 Cougar run in final couple of minutes only decreased Franciscan's winning margin.
 
Chatham's 32.8 percent shooting percentage (19-58) was its lowest of the season. The Cougars shot 25.9 percent (7-27) in the second half. The Barons shot 49.2 percent (31-63) in the contest, including 63.3 percent (31-63) in the second half.
 
Men's Basketball will look to win their ninth consecutive home game on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Geneva.