Washington & Jefferson (21-6, 12-4) vs. Westminster (19-8, 12-4)
 
When: Saturday, February 28, 2026
Where: Washington, Pa.
Court: Salvitti Family Gymnasium
Time: 7:30 P.M.

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THE SERIES: The Washington & Jefferson Presidents and Westminster Titans meet for the 104th time in the history of the Men's Basketball series between the schools. W&J has won eight out of the last ten matchups between the programs. This includes a dominant victory over the Titans just three weeks ago as W&J won the contest, 105-84. The last Westminster triumph over W&J came on January 10, 2024, in the form of a 71-69 overtime win in New Wilmington. The Red & Black have won each of the last six games in the series that were played in Washington, with the last Westminster win at W&J coming on January 31, 2018.
 
THE PLOT THICKENS: Junior forward Nathan Plotner (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South) has been one of the premier defenders in Division III over the last two seasons. The 2024-25 PAC Defensive Player of the Year is looking to repeat those honors as the best statistical defender in the league. The junior is seventh in the division with 69 blocks. The big man's block total is 27 blocks greater than the second-highest total in the PAC. Plotner also ranks 42nd in Division III with 60 steals and leads the Presidents in scoring with an average of 14 points per game.
 
THE PREVIOUS MATCHUP: W&J and Westminster met three weeks ago on February 7, with the Presidents claiming a 105-84 win over the Titans. However, Westminster was missing its top scorer, DJ Harrell, for that contest. The game was highlighted by W&J's Alex Acosta (Acworth, Ga./North Cobb) passing the 1,000-point threshold in the early going.
 
W&J jumped ahead to a double-digit lead less than three minutes into the game and the lead would stay around ten for the remainder of the half, with the Presidents ahead, 46-37, at the break. W&J would keep the lead at double digits for the first few minutes of the second half and was able to push the advantage in to the 20s near the 10:00 mark. The Presidents would keep that control and wound up winning 105-84.
 
PAC PICTURE: The PAC Tournament Semifinals had a pair of competitive games on the men's side. The PAC's overall top seed, W&J, hosted Franciscan for a third matchup between the squads. The contest resulted the same as the previous two, with W&J closing out a hard-fought win to go to its third championship game in five years and second straight.
 
On the other side, Chatham was looking to take another step to achieving back-to-back conference titles and third in five years. However, the Cougars would have to go on the road to take on Westminster, the top seed from the north, and Titans head coach David Richards who led Chatham for seven seasons from 2018 to 2025.
 
Despite Chatham controlling most of the game was within three points as Westminster had the ball with 32 seconds left. An and-one finish gave the Titans a chance to tie it, but a missed free throw appeared to sink Westminster. However, a quick forced turnover and subsequent three pointer gave the Titans an 81-79 victory. The win sent Westminster to its first title game since the 2020-21 season, when the Titans won the championship.
 
GETTING HOT AT THE RIGHT TIME: Senior guard Matt Seidl (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) bounced back from a slow start to the season in the points department and has averaged 12.7 points per game since the calendars flipped compared to 10.4 beforehand. The 2024-25 PAC All-Tournament Team honoree poured in 10 points in the quarterfinal matchup and 13 in the semifinals.
 
I'LL TAKE THAT: The Presidents have kept their identity of swarming full-court defense intact. W&J has forced 19.44 turnovers per game and holds an average turnover margin of +6.0, ranking 9th and 12th in each respective statistic.
 
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: W&J has been dominant at home during the last five seasons. The Presidents hold a 50-14 record in the Salvitti Family Gymnasium over the last five seasons.
 
W&J VS. THE PAC:
Team                                 Record (Pct.)
Allegheny                        60-46 (.566)
Bethany                           109-89 (.551)
Chatham                         12-13 (.480)
Franciscan                     14-3 (.824)
Geneva                            45-47 (.489)
Grove City                       67-72 (.482)
Hiram                                24-24 (.500)
Saint Vincent                 33-45 (.423)
Thiel                                   98-47 (.676)
Waynesburg                   69-58 (.543)
Westminster                  42-62 (.404)
Total                                  573-506 (.531)
 
PAC LEADERS: Listed below are statistics which have Presidents ranked in the top 10 of the PAC:
 
- Rebounds Per Game: (6.9) Acosta (7th), (6.6) Plotner (9th)
- Field Goal Percentage: (.605) Plotner (1st)
- Assists Per Game: (2.9) Matthew Carte (Ravenswood, W.Va./Ravenswood) (9th)
- Blocks: (69) Plotner (1st), (22) Acosta (t-10th)
- Steals: (60) Plotner (3rd), (57) Siedl (4th), (49) Cameron Rowell (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) (7th), (41) Quinton Burlenski (Bridgeport, Ohio/Central Catholic) (t-10th)
- Minutes Per Game: (32.3) Siedl (9th)
 
* All statistics and rankings through February 26, 2026