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The Bearcat men's basketball team wrapped up the 2018-19 regular season with an 80-73 Senior Night victory over visiting Chatham University in the Carey Center.
 
Saint Vincent finishes the regular season with a Presidents' Athletic Conference record of 14-2, and has earned the #1 seed in the post-season.  The Bearcats have an overall record of 21-4.  For the Cougars, the loss drops them to 16-9 overall, 9-7 in the conference.
 
Kromka got the Bearcats off to a quick start, scoring five points as SVC opened the game with an 8-0 run.  At the 17:17 mark, Kromka's layup pushed him beyond the 1,000 point mark in his career, earned in just his third season the team after transferring to SVC for his sophomore season.  
 
The lead was 11-3 after a three from Josh Duda at the 14:49 mark.  After four points from the Cougars, Shemar Bennett got SVC back on the board with 12:12 remaining, making the score 13-7.  Later, two layups by Mike Simmons and one from Ryan Dutton made it a 10-point game, 19-9 near the midway point of the half.
 
The lead became 11 when Duda hit another three at the 7:33 mark, making the score 26-15.
 
Up 32-18, the Bearcats received solid defense from Kromka, blocking a pair of Chatham shots on consecutive attempts.  
 
A three by Chatham's Nasir Alexander brought the margin back to 10 with just over a minute to play, 37-27, and Alexander then drew a foul while shooting a three, hitting all three shots with 40 ticks remaining in the half to make the score 37-30.
 
On the next possession, Bennett ended the half with a layup to put SVC in front 39-30 at the break.  

Chatham's Isaiah Brown led all scorers with 17 first half points, while Kromka scored 11.
 
After Chatham scored the first two points of the second half, Kromka tallied four straight points to give SVC a 43-32 advantage just 90 seconds into play.  After a Chatham score, Cletus Helton scored five consecutive points to give the hosts a 14-point lead, 48-34.
 
A three by Andrew Reed at the 14:35 mark put SVC in front 55-37, and a three in transition later made it a 63-46 game in favor of the Bearcats.
 
The Cougars continued to battle, cutting the margin to 12 (69-57) at the 6:25 mark on a layup by Marc Wells.  The lead dropped to 10 on a dunk by Wells with just under three minutes to go (69-59). 
 
A three by Anthony Bomar of the Cougars left the score at 71-62 with 1:48 to go, and a pair of Chatham free throws made it a 7-point game just 11 seconds later.  A Bearcat turnover then led to a foul that put Alexander on the line with 1:08 on the clock.  Alexander hit one shot to make the score 71-65. 
 
With 40 seconds remaining, Duda drew a foul and hit a pair of shots, but the Cougars answered with a score by by Shawn Erceg.  
 
Erceg drew a foul on the play and missed the shot, but the Cougars were able to control the rebound and Bomar connected on a jumper, making the score 73-69 with 24.9 seconds on the clock.  

After a time out, the Bearcats were attempting to pass the ball between two players that were both out of bounds on the inbound pass.  A Chatham player interfered with the pass, which by rule is a technical foul. Simmons hit one shot to increase the lead to five, and SVC retained possession.  Stephen drew a foul with 19.5 seconds left, hitting both free throws to make it a 7-point game once again.  Brown ran the court quickly and scored on a layup for Chatham with 14 seconds to go (76-71).
 
Helton was fouled with 11 seconds remaining, hitting both shots, and after a Chatham score, Reed ended the game with two free throws as SVC won by seven.
 
Kromka led the Bearcats on the night with 20 points, while Bennett and Simmons each added 11.  Stephen, Duda and Reed scored 9 points each. Stephen had a team-best 6 rebounds.

For the Cougars, Brown had a game-high 26 points, while Wells added 14 points and 10 rebounds.  Alexander also had 14 points.
 
The Bearcats return to action on Tuesday evening (February 19) hosting Thiel College in the quarterfinals of the PAC Playoffs.  Game time is 7PM, and tickets will be on sale on Monday (February 18) in the SVC Athletic Office.