PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Presidents raced out to a 34-14 halftime lead and never looked back as they rolled past Chatham, 66-55, for the first victory of head coach Ethan Stewart-Smith's career.
 
In the first half, W&J had four separate runs of at least 5-0, including an 8-0 run late in the half that extended the lead from 13 to 21.
 
Joe Satira opened the game with a three-pointer, and after a free throw by Chatham, Brian Lindquist recorded a three-point play and Satira added a jumper quickly making the game 8-1 three minutes in. Another free throw from the Cougars stopped that spurt, but a second 5-0 run pushed out the advantage thanks to an Adam Joyce triple and pair of Brian Graytok free throws that made it 13-2 quickly.
 
Chatham recorded its first field goal at the 13:28 mark, which W&J responded to with another 5-0 run on a Lindquist jumper and three free throws (one by Satira, two from Lindquist), 18-4.
 
With the score 22-9, the 8-0 run was started by a Graytok jumper and included a three-pointer from Christian Rohaus, a Lindquist free throw and Gianni Buarne jumper to make it 30-9 with 3:07 remaining in the first half.
 
The second half started in a similar way; after Chatham hit a triple eight seconds into play, the Presidents used an 8-0 run to extend the lead to a game-high 25 points. Lindquist scored six of the eight points.
 
The remainder of the game was back-and-forth and both teams were able to answer a run by the other, with the Presidents holding on for the 66-55 win.
 
W&J shot 47.5 percent (19-of-40) from the field and attempted a season-high 49 free throws, while holding Chatham to just 25.7 percent (18-of-70) from the floor, the lowest opponent field-goal percentage of the season yielded by W&J.
 
Lindquist continued his white-hot tear, recording his third-straight double-double with career highs of 22 points and 18 rebounds. His 18 rebounds are the highest single-game total in at least the last two decades, topping the previous best of 17 shared by former Presidents Nate Bellhy and Josip Lucic-Jozak. In two games this week, the 6-5 sophomore averaged 17.0 points and 17.0 rebounds.
 
Graytok narrowly missed out on his own double-double, scoring 19 points to go with his nine rebounds.
 
W&J will return to the court on Wednesday, Feb. 3 when it travels to Beaver Falls, Pa., for a 7:30 p.m. PAC meeting against Geneva