PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Chatham closed the game with 20 of the final 24 points to earn a 68-64 win over the Washington & Jefferson College men's basketball team Saturday night in a Presidents' Athletic Conference contest. 
 
Primo Zini (Morgantown, W.Va./Trinity Christian) and Alexander Skowron (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) finished with 11 points apiece to lead W&J in the loss. All five of the Cougars starters scored in double figures. 

The loss drops the Presidents to 10-10 overall and 5-6 in PAC play. The Cougars maintain their second place standing in the conference, as they improve to 8-3 in the league and 13-7 overall. The win was the ninth straight at home for the Cougars.
 
W&J appeared poised to secure the season sweep of the reigning PAC Tournament champions. After a back and forth game, the Presidents gained separated midway through the second half. Trailing by four points at 42-38 with 13:54 to play, the Presidents used a 15-0 surge over the next five-plus minutes to take a 53-42 lead at the 8:19 mark. The run included a pair of baskets by AJ Blue (Kensington, Md./Sidwell Friends (D.C.) and five consecutive points by Zini. 
 
A little later, a layup by Okikiola Agbale (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) and a pair of free throws by Kyran Mitchell (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) gave the Presidents a 60-48 lead with 4:59 to play. 
 
However, the Cougars rattled off a lengthy run of their own. The hosts used a trio of made three-point baskets to record 13 unanswered points to take a narrow 61-60 advantage with 2:53 to play. DeVito would help the Presidents answer with a driving layup to take a one-point edge with 2:02 left. Chatham would finish off the victory, as they scored seven of the final nine points. 
 
The Presidents raced out to an early lead in the first half behind a basket by Mitchell followed by a successful three-point shot from Zach Queen (Jeannette, Pa./Hempfield). The host Cougars countered with five consecutive points of their own to tie the game at the 16:37 mark. 
 
Back-to-back three-point plays by Zini and Queen helped key a run that put the Presidents in front 15-9 with 10:57 to play in the opening half. 
 
Chatham used eight straight points, including back-to-back triples to take its first lead of the game at 17-15. The Cougars would extend the lead to as many as seven points in the latter stages of the half. Five consecutive points by Will Sandherr pushed the Cougars edge to 29-22 with 3:23 to play in the half. 
 
W&J would respond with seven straight points, which included five straight by Cameron Seemann (Loveland, Ohio/Archbisop Moeller) that helped the Red and Black even the score at 29-29. The Cougars would close out the first half with a pair of free throws to take a 31-29 edge into the break. 
 
W&J held advantages in made field goals (25-22), bench points (30-8) and points off of turnovers (21-14). A big difference in the game was the Cougars ability to convert from behind the three-point line. The hosts made 12 triples compared to just four makes from distance by the Presidents. 
 
The Presidents host Westminster College for a conference game on Wednesday, Feb. 5. Start time is scheduled for 8 p.m. In conjunction with the doubleheader against the Titans, W&J will host Washington School District Night.