LATROBE, Pa (Dec. 7)- The Saint Vincent men's basketball team played host to Chatham in a PAC matchup on Wednesday night, where the Cougars came away with an 84-68 win over the Bearcats.
 
Just two days after notching his 1,000-career point, Shemar Bennett led the way for the Bearcats once again. Bennett finished with 27 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks. Bennett shot 10-19 from the field and 7-9 from the foul line.
 
Tayler McNeal also scored in double figures for SVC, finishing with 18 points, five rebounds, and one assist. Jaden Gales scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds in the loss as well. Jake DeMotte scored seven points, including one three pointer and Andrew Reed and Osyon Jones both finished with four points.
 
I the beginning portion of the first half, the Bearcats were in control. Saint Vincent held an early 10-7 lead a little under five minutes into play. The Cougars responded with a quick 8-0 lead to take a 15-10 lead, never losing the lead the rest of the game.
 
At the midway portion of the first half, Chatham had increased their lead to seven at 28-21. The Bearcats answered as DeMotte hit a three-pointer cutting the Cougars lead to just four at 28-24 with 7:41 to go in the half. After SVC cut it to four, Chatham went on a quick 9-4 spurt to take a nine-point lead at 37-28. The Cougars increased their lead to 11 by the end half at 45-34.
 
Chatham shot a strong 65 percent from the field in the first half and 50 percent (5-10) from the three-point line. The Bearcats on the other hand shot just 38 percent from the field and also 50 percent (3-6) from the three-point line in the half.
 
In the second half, the Bearcats attempted to claw back in the game, but the Cougars tempered their charge. After playing fairly even in the first seven minutes of second half action Chatham remained in the lead, increasing their lead from 11 at the halftime break to 13 at 58-45.
 
After a couple stops on defense and Bennett knocking down some free throws, the Bearcats cut the Cougars lead to eight at 60-52 with just under 11-minutes to go in the half. Chatham once again answered bumping their lead back up to 13 at 68-55 with eight minutes to play in regulation. Over the final eight minutes, the Bearcats cut the Cougars lead to nine one more time, but that's the closest they would get as Chatham pulled away with the PAC victory.
 
Simon Boyer paced the Cougars, scoring 23 points, while grabbing nine rebounds in the win for Chatham. Isaiah Smith scored 18 points, Marcos Cintron scored 17 points, and Blaine Gartley and Thomas James each added 10 points for Chatham.
 
The Bearcats shot 42 percent as a team (26-52) and 3-12 (25 percent) from beyond the three-point line in the loss. Both the Bearcats and Cougars scored 44 points in the paint each. Saint Vincent scored 15 points off of turnovers compared to the Cougars 12.
 
Saint Vincent will have a quick turnaround as they travel to division one program Saint Francis, tomorrow, Thursday, December 8 for an exhibition game. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Saint Francis University.