PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Six Presidents scored in double figures as the W&J men's basketball team earned a convincing 98-83 road victory over Chatham University Wednesday evening in a Presidents' Athletic Conference showdown between the top two teams in the conference standings. 

The victory is the eighth straight for the Presidents, who improve to 20-4 overall and 15-2 in PAC play. Chatham falls to 19-3 overall and 14-3 in conference games.

The win gives W&J sole possession of first place entering Saturday's regular season finale against Grove City. The Presidents can lock up the No. 1 seed with a win versus the Wolverines on Senior Day. W&J has reached the 20-win plateau for just the third time in program history (1993-94 and 2008-09). 

The win extends W&J's road winning streak to 16 games. The Presidents' last road loss came on Feb. 22, 2020. The loss ends Chatham's perfect home record. The Cougars entered the game 10-0 at home this season. 

Six Presidents finished in double figures Wednesday evening for the Presidents. Nick Gearhart (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon) and Isaiah Langston (Coraopolis, Pa./Cornell) each tallied a double-double for the Red & Black. Both of the players recorded 15 points and 10 rebounds. The double-double was the first for Gearhart. Kyran Mitchell (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) put up a team-high 22 points in just 23 minutes of action as he battled foul troubles.
 
J.R. Mazza (Bridgeport, W.VA./University) finished with 15 points while Michael Bigley (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton LaSalle) added 14 points and eight rebounds. Dirk Daniels (Phillipsburg, N.J./Blair Academy) chipped in 11 points off the bench for W&J.
 
As the game started, it was looking like it was going to be another close-knit battle for the Red & Black as the Cougars opened up an early 8-4 lead at the 15:28 mark. 
 
However, W&J played with a sizable advantage for most of the evening in large part to a 25-5 run over the next four-plus minutes. The Presidents used hot-shooting and their full-court pressure to stifle the hosts during the game-changing run. The run included six turnovers and a technical foul was issued to the Cougars' Simon Boyer. Mitchell and Mazza combined to account for the first 11 points of the run for W&J. A three-pointer by Mazza then a steal by Kaden DiVito (Coraopolis, Pa./Cornell) and layup by Daniels capped the run as W&J took a 29-13 advantage at the 11:13 mark. 
  
A good jumper by Gearhart would open the Presidents biggest lead of the first half at 48-29. The Presidents took a 49-32 lead into the locker room.
 
The Presidents led by double digits for the entirety of the second half. W&J led by as many as 25 points (76-51) with 8:35 to play. The closest Chatham would get was 11 points with 2:27 to play. Daniels closed the scoring with a free throw that made it 98-83 with 40 seconds to play. 
 
W&J shot the ball well all night, as the Red and Black connected on 51.6 percent of its field goals (33-of-64). The Cougars made 39.2 percent from the field but converted just 7-of-27 three-point field goals. W&J held a 48-36 edge in rebounding. 
 
W&J returns to Salvitti Family Gymnasium on Saturday, February 19 looking to secure the top spot in the PAC. Tip-off between the Presidents and Wolverines is slated for 3 p.m. The three W&J seniors will be honored prior to tip-off.