PITTSBURGH, Pa. (Feb. 1) – Four players scored in double figures as the Saint Vincent men's basketball team pulled away for a 79-72 road victory over Presidents' Athletic Conference foe Chatham.
The win is Saint Vincent's sixth in its past seven games and ups its record to 13-8 overall and 9-7 in PAC play, while Chatham suffers its third straight loss and drops to 10-10 overall and 9-6 in league play.
Saint Vincent's Jaden Gales led a balanced Bearcat scoring attack with 19 points, while Mike Iuzzolino added 18, Osyon Jones 17 and Shemar Bennett 15. Bennett also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season.
Chatham got off to a hot start, jumping out to a 17-9 lead over the game's first six minutes. The Bearcats quickly regrouped, embarking on a 10-2 run over the next five minutes, fueled by five points from Iuzzolino, to tie the game at 19 with 9:33 left in the half. Chatham responded with five straight points, and would maintain a lead between three and seven points over the next seven minutes.
Trailing 37-32 with 2:01 left, SVC's Andrew Reed hit a jumper to cut the deficit to three points, before an Iuzzolino three and a pair of Reed free throws tied the game at 39 with 1:01 left until the break. SVC held Chatham scoreless over its final two possessions of the half, before Jones beat the halftime buzzer with a jumper to send SVC into the locker room with a 41-39 lead.
The Bearcats kept the momentum to start the second half, with Bennett hitting a jumper and Gales throwing down a dunk over the opening minute of the second frame to open up a six-point lead, 45-39. Bennett would then score on back-to-back possessions to cap off an 8-0 run and push the SVC advantage into double digits, 49-39, with 16:34 left in regulation.
Chatham refused to go away and embarked on a lengthy run, using a trio of three-pointers to outscore the Bearcats 22-11 over the next eight minutes to regain a 61-60 lead at the 8-minute mark. After the teams traded baskets on the next two trips, Gales scored four points in a 20-second span, including another big dunk off of a feed from Jones, to open up a 66-63 lead with 4:57 left.
Tayler McNeal's jumper, followed by a pair of Iuzzolino free throws, increased the lead to 70-65 with 3:15 remaining. The SVC defense would then clamp down, allowing just two Chatham field goals and forcing three Cougar turnovers over the game's final three minutes.
At the other end of the court, SVC's offense closed out the victory at the foul line, with Jones, Reed, Iuzzolino and Gales going a combined 9-for-10 from the stripe over the game's final two minutes.
For the game, the Bearcats shot a solid 50 percent from the field (27-for-54), including a 57 percent mark (13-for-23) in the second half. SVC was also solid at the foul line, connecting on 21 of 27 attempts, including a 12-for-14 showing in the second half.
Bennett was one of four Bearcats to grab at least five rebounds, as SVC outrebounded Chatham 37-30. McNeal tallied seven caroms, Jones six and Gales five, while Reed dished a team-high four assists and Jones led SVC with three steals.
Saint Vincent returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 4, traveling to northwestern Pennsylvania to take on PAC foe Allegheny College beginning at 4 p.m.
