WASHINGTON, Pa. (pacathletics.org)--Top-seeded Washington & Jefferson College overcame a 38-32 halftime deficit to defeat No. 2 Chatham University 68-63 in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament title game Saturday night at Salvitti Family Gymnasium.

The PAC title is the 10th in program history for W&J (24-4). Its last conference title came in 1994-95. 

As the winner of the PAC’s Championship Tournament, W&J will receive the league's automatic qualifying bid to this year's Division III Championship Tournament. Forty-four conferences have been granted automatic qualification to this year's 64-team championship. The selected Division III Championship teams as well as the first and second round site selections will be announced Monday, February 28 on ncaa.com. First and second round games are scheduled for Friday-Saturday, March 4-5. 

Saturday, February 26 (Championship)
No. 2 Chatham at No. 1 W&J
Final: W&J 68, Chatham 63
Salvitti Family Gymnasium-Washington, Pa. 
Saturday was W&J's 12th-straight win after falling to Chatham 85-80 on January 19... It was the first time W&J hosted a title game since 2006-07... Chatham's first half lead swelled to as many as 12... Sophomore Simon Boyer (Hampton, Pa. | Hampton Roads Academy) drained a three-pointer with 9:44 left in the first to put the Cougars on top 26-14... W&J put together a 14-2 run over the next 4:35 to cut the deficit to two (30-28)... Sophomore Nick Gearhart (Huntingdon, Pa. | Huntingdon) hit back-to-back three-pointers during the spurt... Senior Malik Potter's (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Winchester Thurston) jumper with 9:18 to play pushed Chatham's lead to eight (59-51)... W&J responded by outscoring Chatham 9-2 over the next 6:20 to take a two-point lead (63-61) with just under three minutes remaining... Sophomore J.R. Mazza (Bridgeport, W.Va. | University) made three free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt with 1:25 remaining to increase W&J's lead to five (66-61)... W&J finished with a 20-6 edge in bench points, keyed by senior Okikiola Agabale's (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Shaler) season-high 18 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting effort... He finished 6-of-7 from the free throw line... Junior Kyran Mitchell (Reading, Pa. | Berks Catholic) recorded a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double, his 12th of the season... Mitchell added six assists... Gearhart finished with 12 points and seven rebounds while Mazza finished with 12 points... Potter and Boyer each had 15 points to lead Chatham... Senior Ben Pollock (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Cheswick Christian Academy) posted an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double, his seventh of the season... Pollock finished 5-of-7 from the field... First-year Blaine Gartley (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Mount Lebanon) added eight points, a career-high 10 rebounds and four steals.

Thursday, February 24 (Semifinal Round 2)
No. 3 Westminster at No. 2 Chatham 
Final: Chatham 72, Westminster 62
Athletics and Fitness Center-Pittsburgh, Pa.
Chatham advances to its second-ever title game appearance with Thursday's win... (4) Chatham defeated (3) Westminster 64-61 on February 23, 2019 to earn its first-ever PAC title... Chatham finished with four players in double figures... Senior Malik Potter (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Winchester Thurston) paced all scorers with 24 points... He added six rebounds and six assists... Senior Ben Pollock (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Cheswick Christian Academy) registered a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double... Junior Marcos Cintron (Grove City, Pa. | Grove City) added 13 points while sophomore Simon Boyer (Hampton, Va. | Hampton Roads Academy) chipped in with 10... Chatham shot 49.2 percent (30-61) from the field and outrebounded Westminster 39-37... Senior Daniel Ritter (North Lima, Ohio | South Range) had 16 points and six rebounds to pace Westminster... Senior Anthony Ritter (North Lima, Ohio | South Range) added 14 points and five rebounds... Sophomore Reese Leone (Beloit, Ohio | West Branch) totaled 11 points and six assists while junior Tyler James (Youngstown, Ohio | John F. Kennedy) had 10 points and nine rebounds. 

Thursday, February 24 (Semifinal Round 1)
No. 5 Waynesburg at No. 1 W&J
Final: W&J 66, Waynesburg 61
Salvitti Family Gymnasium-Washington, Pa. 
W&J has won 11-straight games heading into its first title game appearance since 2007-08... Saturday will mark the first time W&J has hosted a title game since 2006-07... W&J will be playing for its 10th PAC title... Their last came in 1994-95... Thursday was the Presidents' 23rd win this season, a new single-season record... Thursday was the third time this season W&J earned a win against Waynesburg this season... The Presidents won 61-52 at Waynesburg on January 12 and claimed a 68-63 win at home on February 9... Sophomore J.R. Mazza (Bridgeport, W.Va. | University) poured in a game-high 21 points and knocked down five three-pointers to lead W&J... Sophomore Nick Gearhart (Huntingdon, Pa. | Huntingdon) finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and five steals... Sophomore Michael Bigley (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Seton LaSalle) added 10 points and four rebounds... Sophomore Jake Scheidt (Saxonburg, Pa. | Knoch) paced Waynesburg with 19 points, going 6-of-9 from the floor and 5-of-6 from three-point range... He added six rebounds... Graduate student Nijon Kirkman (Cleveland, Ohio | John Jay) posted a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double... Sophomore Jansen Knotts (Ridgeley, W.Va. | Frankfort) and freshman John Tastinger (Otto, N.C. | Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School) each added 11 points. 

Tuesday, February 22 (Quarterfinal Round 4)
No. 5 Waynesburg at No. 4 Geneva
Final: Waynesburg 60, Geneva 59  
Metheny Fieldhouse-Beaver Falls, Pa.
Tuesday night was Waynesburg's first PAC Championship Tournament win since the 2014-15 season, when the (2) Yellow Jackets fell to (1) Saint Vincent 72-66 in the title game... The quarterfinal win at Geneva was the program's first road playoff victory since 2005-06, when (4) Waynesburg earned an 87-75 semifinal win at (3) Westminster... Waynesburg owned a 29-28 lead at the half, outscoring Geneva 20-9 over the final 10:03... Graduate student Nijon Kirkman (Cleveland, Ohio | John Hay) scored Waynesburg's final 11 points of the second half... Kirkman drained a pair of free throws with three seconds remaining in regulation to put Waynesburg up one, 60-59... He registered a 28-point, 17-rebound double-double... The 28 points were a career high... He shot 54.5 percent (12-22) from the floor... Sophomore Jansen Knotts (Ridgeley, W.Va. | Frankfort) chipped in with 10 points and five boards... Junior Ryan Felberg (Twinsburg, Ohio | Twinsburg) and sophomore Jake Scheidt  (Saxonburg, Pa. | Knoch) each added eight points... Geneva junior Lyle Tipton (Glenside, Pa. | Phil-Mont Christian) totaled 22 points and nine rebounds... It was his league-high 20th game scoring 20 or more points this season... Junior Ryan Rachic (Prince Frederick, Md. | Calvert) posted an 11-point, 13-rebound double-double. 

Tuesday, February 22 (Quarterfinal Round 3)
No. 6 Thiel at No. 3 Westminster
Final: Westminster 68, Thiel 66
Ron Galbreath Court inside Buzz Ridl Gymnasium-New Wilmington, Pa.
Westminster earned a spot in the semifinal round for the fourth time in the last five seasons... (1) Westminster defeated (6) Thiel in last year's semifinal round, 101-60... The Titans won their second conference title in program history last season (2003-04)... Thiel owned a 14-point lead at the half (39-25) after outscoring Westminster 20-5 over the final 8:34... Westminster's first lead of the second half came on sophomore Reese Leone's (Beloit, Ohio | West Branch) game-winning buzzer-beater... Senior Josh Hutcherson (Uniontown, Ohio | Lake) finished with a 23-point, 10-rebound double-double... He went 10-of-16 from the floor... Leone had 13 points... Junior Tyler James (Youngstown, Ohio | John F. Kennedy) totaled 11 points, six rebounds and six blocks... Westminster finished with a 51-39 rebounding advantage... Sophomore Marlon Ellerbee (Temple Hills, Md. | Oxon Hill) led Thiel with 16 points and added seven rebounds and three assists... Senior Ahmad Tejumola (Waldorf, Md. | Saint Charles) and sophomore Rayshod Hooper (Baltimore, Md. | St. Frances Academy) each had double-doubles... Tejumola scored 15 points with 10 boards and Hooper scored 12 points with a game-high 11 rebounds. 

Tuesday, February 22 (Quarterfinal Round 2)
No. 7 Franciscan at No. 2 Chatham
Final: Chatham 88, Franciscan 73
Athletics and Fitness Center-Pittsburgh, Pa.
Chatham secured its 20th victory of the season Tuesday, the most single-season wins in program history... It will be Chatham's third time advancing to the semifinals... (2) Chatham fell to (5) Geneva 91-63 in the semifinal round of the 2019-20 tournament... (4) Chatham defeated (3) Westminster 64-61 on February 23, 2019 to earn its first-ever PAC title... Chatham senior Malik Potter (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Winchester Thurston) led all scorers with 27 points... Sophomore Simon Boyer (Hampton, Va. | Hampton Roads Academy) added 17 points and four rebounds while junior Marcos Cintron (Grove City, Pa. | Grove City) finished with 16 points... Senior Nick Bomar (Bethel Park, Pa. | Bethel Park) had a game-high 10 rebounds... Junior Colton Hage (Reseda, Calif. | Crespi) led five Franciscan players in double figures... Hage finished with 14 points... Graduate student Sean Hickey (North Olmsted, Ohio | Holy Name) had 13 points while sophomore Josh Zimmeran (Steubenville, Ohio | Steubenville) totaled 12 points and five rebounds... Senior Travis Lien (Kirkwood, Mo. | Kirkwood) registered 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks... Sophomore Nicholas Allienello (Johnston, R.I. | Providence Country Day) scored 10 points and had four rebounds.  

Tuesday, February 22 (Quarterfinal Round 1)
No. 8 Grove City at No. 1 W&J
Final: W&J 90, Grove City 72
Salvitti Family Gymnasium-Washington, Pa. 
W&J's 22 victories this season matches the school record set in 1993-94... Tuesday's matchup was the first between W&J and Grove City in the PAC Championship Tournament since meeting in the semifinals of the 2009-10 tournament... (1) Grove City clipped (5) W&J by a 63-59 margin... W&J earned its first PAC Championship Tournament win since 2012-13, when the (5) Presidents earned a 70-64 quarterfinal victory at (4) Bethany on February 19... W&J’s last tournament win at home came in the 2008-09 first round as the (4) Presidents beat (5) Grove City 74-68... W&J owns nine PAC titles, with its most recent coming in 1994-95... W&J led 41-32 at the half Tuesday night after watching Grove City jump out to an early 8-0 lead... Freshman Jonah Bock (Erie, Pa. | McDowell) drilled a three-pointer with 2:57 to go in the first half to give Grove City a 31-30 advantage... W&J closed the first half outscoring Grove City 11-1... W&J's second half lead swelled to as many as 20 before securing the 18-point win... Junior Kyran Mitchell (Reading, Pa. | Berks Catholic) scored 26 points on 11-of-19 shooting to lead W&J... Sophomore J.R. Mazza (Bridgeport, W.Va. | University) finished with 18 points, knocking down 6-of-12 three-point attempts... Sophomore Nick Gearhart (Huntingdon, Pa. | Huntingdon) added 17 points, eight rebounds and four steals while senior Okikiola Agbale (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Shaler) chipped in with 13 points... Grove City senior Ben Rose (Helena, Ala. | Helena) paced Grove City with 13 points and six rebounds while junior Elijah White (Zelienople, Pa. | Portersville Christian) posted a 12-point, 14-rebound double-double. 

Monday, February 21 (First Round 2)
No. 9 Saint Vincent at No. 8 Grove City
Final: Grove City 66, Saint Vincent 51
Grove City College Arena-Grove City, Pa.
Grove City and Saint Vincent last met in the league's championship tournament in 2020, with (1) Grove City earning a 76-69 semifinal win over (6) Saint Vincent on February 27... Prior to that, the previous meeting was February 21, 2012 when the (4) Bearcats clipped the (5) Wolverines, 71-64... Grove City led 29-19 at the half Monday... Junior Elijah White (Zelienople, Pa. | Portersville Christian) paced Grove City with a career-high 20 points and added nine rebounds and three assists... Senior Ben Rose (Helena, Ala. | Helena) chipped in with 10 points and five assists... Senior Isaac Thrasher (Grove City, Pa. | Grove City) totaled nine points, two rebounds and three assists... Grove City held a commanding 54-30 rebounding edge and outscored Saint Vincent 31-6 in bench points... Sophomore Nelson Etuk (Blacksburg, Va. | North Cross) led Saint Vincent with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists... Sophomore Kaleb Fields (Sarasota, Fla. | Sarasota) added 14 points. 

Monday, February 21 (First Round 1)
No. 10 Bethany at No. 7 Franciscan
Final: Franciscan 108, Bethany 89
Finnegan Fieldhouse-Steubenville, Ohio 
Monday's meeting was the second straight between Franciscan and Bethany in the opening round of the championship tournament... (8) Franciscan outlasted (9) Bethany 104-98 on March 13... Bethany earned a 103-100 victory at Franciscan on December 1 to open its PAC regular season schedule... Monday was Franciscan's fourth game scoring 100 or more points this season... Franciscan graduate student Sean Hickey (North Olmsted, Ohio | Holy Name) led six players in double figures, finishing with 16 points and six rebounds... Senior Travis Lien (Kirkwood, Mo. | Kirkwood) added 15 points and four rebounds... Sophomore Josh Zimmerman (Steubenville, Ohio | Steubenville) totaled 14 points, five rebounds and seven assists while sophomore Joseph Ciola (Burke, Va. | Mother of Divine Grace) finished with 14 points, knocking down 4-of-6 three-point attempts... Junior Colton Hage (Resida, Calif. | Crespi) had 13 points and three rebounds and junior Aidan Hickey (North Olmsted, Ohio | Holy Name) chipped in with 10 points... Junior Asa Klimchock (Greensburg, Pa. | Kiski Prep.) paced Bethany with a career-high 27 points to go along with eight rebounds and five assists... Sophomore Travis Zimmerman (Wheeling, W.Va. | Wheeling Park) added 16 points and three rebounds... Franciscan posted a 50-30 advantage in bench points and maintained a 44-28 edge in points in the paint... The Barons finished the night shooting 54.7 percent (41-75) from the floor and 41.2 percent (14-34) from three-point range... Franciscan knocked down 12-of-13 (.923) free throw attempts.