TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - One home team and one road team were winners Tuesday, as third-seeded Washington & Jefferson College and fifth-seeded Grove City College moved on to the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Men's Basketball Tournament semifinals with wins in the conference quarterfinals Tuesday night.

The Presidents (20-6) were finally able to get past an upset-minded Franciscan University (15-11) for a 73-62 victory in Washington, Pa. W&J advances to take on second-seeded Saint Vincent College Thursday in one semifinal at 7 pm in Latrobe, Pa.

Also in Thursday's semifinals will be the top-seed Chatham University (21-4) at home against Grove City (16-10). For the second year in a row, the Wolverines went on the road and pulled out a quarterfinal win, this time defeating the defending PAC champions Geneva College (14-12) by a 69-61 count. Grove City will now journey to Pittsburgh to take on the Cougars in a 7pm tip-off Thursday.

The two teams who emerge from the semifinals will meet in the PAC Tournament Championship game Saturday at the highest remaining seed.

Tuesday. Feb. 25 (Quarterfinal Round 1 - Washington, Pa.)
#3 Washington & Jefferson 73, #6 Franciscan 62
Franciscan opened the game with a 13-6 run and their lead was still four at 25-21 with six minutes left in the first half. The Presidents would rally before halftime, scoring 13 of the half's final 19 points to take a 34-31 lead into the break. W&J's Matthew Carte, who scored eight in the opening half, started the run with a three-point play and the Presidents would go 6-for-6 from the foul line during that stretch to build their lead.

The Barons would stay within striking distance in the second half and would take as a three-point lead at 47-44 with 14 minutes to play on a basket by Karl Yonkeu. That's when W&J took control, scoring the next 11 points and a 15-3 run was capped by a steal and breakaway dunk by Cameron Rowell that made it a 59-50 Presidents' lead. Franciscan was unable to get closer than seven points the rest of the game and W&J would close out the win, marking their 20th of the season.

Fueling the Presidents in the second half was a defense that forced 21 turnovers for the game and 54 percent (14-for-26) shooting after halftime. The balanced offense featured four in double digits, led by Matt Seidl, Nathan Plotner and Rowell with 15 each, while Carte dropped in 13 points. Rowell led the defensive efforts with four steals, while Seidl grabbed a team-high seven boards.

The Presidents will be looking for their first win against Saint Vincent this season when they play Thursday, as the Bearcats swept both regular season meetings. Saint Vincent won a 90-71 match-up in Washington Dec. 15 and then held off a furious W&J rally in the closing minute for a 93-90 win in Latrobe Feb. 8.

Leading the Barons in Tuesday's game was Butler and Aiden Townsend with 13 points apiece. Butler also had three steals in the contest.

Tuesday. Feb. 25 (Quarterfinal Round 1 - Beaver Falls, Pa.)
No. 5 Grove City 69, No. 4 Geneva 61
A 10-0 run midway through the first half gave Grove City a lead they would not relinquish, as the Wolverines held off Geneva rallies the rest of the night. With the game tied 13-13, consecutive threes by Jonah Bock sparked the Grove City run and a lay-up by Chase Yarberough made it a 23-13 Wolverines' lead with 6:46 left in the half. Geneva did chip away and had the deficit down to 31-27 at halftime, helped in part by seven points off turnovers.

Grove City would use two more bursts to take control in the second half. A quick 7-0 spurt, highlighted by a Yarberough three, gave the Wolverines 48-35 lead near the midway point of the second half. After the Golden Tornadoes got their margin into single digits, another run of eight straight points, punctuated by consecutive three-point plays from Yarberough and Bock, gave the Wolverines their biggest lead of the game at 60-43 with less than seven minutes to play. 

Geneva had one run left, ripping off 15 of the next 17 points and when Ryan Rachic hit a jumper with two minutes to play, it was suddenly a 62-58 Grove City lead. But jumpers by Yarberough and Mike Christenson on their next two possessions ended the GT's momentum and the Wolverines would secure the victory. Freshman Isaac Cherry led the team with 15 points and eight boards, while Yarberough finished with 14 markers and Bock chipped in 11.

For Geneva, Ryan (19 points) and Mark Rachic (14) were tops in scoring, while Trevor Tipton finished with 13. Ryan Rachic also grabbed a team-best seven rebounds.

Grove City will be aiming for a repeat result of their first trip to Chatham when they travel to Pittsburgh Thursday. The Wolverines were 72-62 winners on the road in the first meeting between the teams Dec. 7, but the Cougars won the rematch by a 72-60 count in Grove City Feb. 1.

2024-25 PAC Men's Basketball Championship Tournament Schedule
Quarterfinals - Tuesday, Feb. 25
#3 Washington & Jefferson 73, #6 Franciscan 62 - Box Score
#5 Grove City 69,  #4 Geneva 61 - Box Score

Semifinals - Thursday, Feb. 27
#3 W&J (20-6, 15-5 PAC) at #2 Saint Vincent (20-5, 16-4 PAC) - 7 pm
#5 Grove City (16-10, 12-8) at #1 Chatham (21-4, 18-2 PAC) - 7 pm

Championship - Saturday, March 1
at highest remaining seed - 7:30 pm