TRAFFORD Pa. - The 2024 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Men's Basketball Tournament championship game is set for Saturday night with No. 1 Geneva College and No. 2 Saint Vincent College winning their semifinal games Thursday night to set up a third game this season between the top two seeds in the conference.

Geneva used a three-point play with less than a second to play to pull out an improbable 68-67 victory over fifth-seeded Grove City College (14-13). In the other semifinal, Saint Vincent was pushed to overtime by No. 3 Chatham University before escaping with an 88-83 victory.

The title game will be played on Geneva's campus in Beaver Falls and is scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm

Thursday, Feb. 22 (Semifinal Round 1 - Beaver Falls, Pa.)
Geneva 68, Grove City 67
Geneva graduate student guard Isaac Massie (Cross Lanes, W.Va./Homeschooled) converted a three-point play with 0.8 seconds to play to lift the host Golden Tornadoes to a one-point victory over upset-minded Grove City and into Saturday's title game, which will be just the second PAC championship game appearance for the GTs.

In a game that featured eight ties and 19 lead changes, Grove City looked like they might pull off the upset when junior guard Chase Yarberough (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) had a lay-up and then a three-pointer with 1:13 to play to put the Wolverines on top 67-65. Geneva missed a three and had to foul with 10 seconds left, but was given life when Grove City missed the front end of a one-and-one. That set the stage for Massie, who got to the rim to finish and was fouled with less than a second to play. He calmly sank the free throw for the one-point lead and Grove City's last inbounds pass sailed out of play, giving the GT's the win in front of their home crowd.

Geneva's scoring attack had four reach double digits, led by senior forward Ryan Rachic (Prince Frederick, Md./Calvert) with 16. Junior wing Trevor Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Phil-Mont Christian Academy) was right behind him with 15, while Massie's heroics gave him 11 and junior guard Mark Rachic (Prince Frederick, Md./Calvert) also hit for 11. 

The Wolverines upset bid was led by Yarberough with 23 points. Other top scorers included sophomore guard Mike Christenson (Oakton, Va./Trinity) and freshman center Isaac Cherry (Sagamore Hills, Ohio/Nordonia), who both added 10 points.

Thursday, Feb. 22 (Semifinal Round 2 - Latrobe, Pa.)
Saint Vincent 88, Chatham 83 - OT
After trailing for nearly the entire first half, Saint Vincent seemed to take control after halftime. Then leading by nine with seven minutes left to play, the Bearcats saw that lead melt away and when Chatham's  Elijah Stewart (York, Pa./Dover) converted a three-point play with 16 seconds left, the game was pushed to overtime tied at 72-72.

In OT, the defending PAC champion Cougars had the lead twice, but Saint Vincent leaned on sophomore guard Dev Ostrowski (Niantic, Conn./East Lyme) and senior guard Osyon Jones (Orlando, Fla./Bishop Moore) to come back. Ostrowski scored nine points in the extra session and Jones scored five, including three free throws in the final 10 seconds to secure the win for the Bearcats and send them back to the PAC title game.

Ostrowski's big effort in OT gave him a game-high 32 points for the night, highlighted by 5-for-9 shooting from the arc. Jones's night featured a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds, while senior guard Taylor McNeal (Toledo, Ohio/St. Francis De Sales) scored 13 and sophomore forward Jaden Gales (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bishop Canevin) also had a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards. 

In the loss for Chatham, four players scored in double digits, led by sophomore guard Diaun Pinkett's (McKees Rocks, Pa./Montour) 24-point, 13-rebound double-double. Junior guard Blaine Gartley (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) nearly had a triple-double with 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while Stewart recorded 16 points and senior guard Simon Boyer (Hampton, Va./Hampton Roads Academy) finished with 14.

Championship Game at a Glance
Geneva is pursuing their first PAC title and will be playing in their second conference championship game. The GTs made the PAC Tournament final in 2020 as the five seed after winning a pair of road games, but Geneva's run ended with a loss in the championship game at Grove City. 

Saint Vincent is looking for its fifth PAC title and first since 2016 when the Bearcats completed a run of four consecutive conference crowns from 2012-16. The Bearcats also made the Tournament final in 2017, their last trip to the PAC Title game, but were denied a fifth crown in a row by Thomas More.

Saturday's game will be the third between the teams this year, with each winning on their own home floor. The Bearcats won the first meeting in Latrobe 72-70 on Dec. 9 when Jones scored on a putback with three seconds to play. In the rematch at Geneva Feb. 3, the Golden Tornadoes led by as many as 16 in the second half, but had to hold off a furios Saint Vincent rally to come away with a 73-69 victory.

2023-24 PAC Men's Basketball Championship Tournament Schedule
Quarterfinals - Tuesday, February 20 - campus sites
No. 5 Grove City 65, No. 4 Waynesburg 58
No. 3 Chatham 96, No. 6 Bethany 90 - 2OT

Semifinals - Thursday, February 22 - campus sites
Geneva 68, Grove City 67
Saint Vincent 88, Chatham 83 - OT

Championship - Saturday, February 24
No. 2 Saint Vincent (23-3, 17-3 PAC) at No. 1 Geneva (23-3, 18-2 PAC) - 7:30 p.m.