WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson College men's basketball team (22-6) won its 11^th Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship with a 68-61 victory over the Westminster Titans (19-9).
 
The victory clinched the 11th PAC crown for the Presidents in program history and the first since 2022. W&J, which now has a 22-6 record this season, also earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Matthew Carte (Ravenswood, W.Va./Ravenswood) and Matt Seidl (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) led the Presidents in scoring with 16 points each. Nathan Plotner (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South) also finished in double figure scoring with 14 points, along with eight rebounds and four blocks. Seidl and Quinton Burlenski (Bridgeport, Ohio/Central Catholic) controlled the W&J press defense with three steal each.
 
The game was close from the opening tip, with neither team leading by more than five points in the first half. Plotner hit a jumper with 3:10 left in the half to extend the W&J lead to five, 30-25 before Westminster closed the half with the final six points. The Titans entered the break with a 31-30 edge, the first time this postseason the Presidents entered the half without the lead.
 
Westminster held the lead out of the halftime break, growing largest lead of the game at 46-39 with 13:44 remaining. W&J answered with a pair of threes to get back within a point, 46-45. Carte gave the Presidents their first lead of the second half at the 5:18 mark with a made jumper in the paint, 53-52.
 
Following two made free throws from Michael Plasko (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette), the Presidents quickly began to grow their permanent lead en route to a conference title. W&J outscored Westminster 11-3 over the final 3:40 to rally for a 68-61 victory. Seidl scored the final points of the contest with two free throws from the charity stripe.
 
Despite being edged in the rebounding battle (33-29) and the turnover margin (16-15), the Presidents excelled in second chance scoring (8-3) and production from their bench (15-9). In typical W&J men's basketball fashion, the Jaymen also managed to take advantage of their opportunities in transition with edges in points off of turnovers (24-21) and fast break points (16-11).
 
W&J will now wait to see their draw for the NCAA Tournament, which will be the Presidents' fourth NCAA appearance (1985, 1994, 2022). The entire bracket will be announced on the NCAA's selection show on its website Monday at 1:00 p.m.