By Justin Zackal
If the PAC men’s basketball tournament represents the regular season, there will be a lot of close games. Only four wins separated the second- through seventh-place teams and at times during the season only one or two wins separated the entire field behind top-seeded Saint Vincent.
“We knew every game was going to come down to one or two possessions and there was going to be a lot of parity,” said Westminster head coach Kevin Siroki, whose Titans are one of two PAC teams to defeat Saint Vincent this year, and Westminster’s loss to the Bearcats was only by two points, on the road and without the Titans’ leading scorer.
“(Saint Vincent’s) got some good scorers, they all play well together and they’re well-coached,” Siroki said. “They can play slowdown ball because they’ve got the big guys and they can push it because they’ve got some athletic kids, but we’ve been able to match up pretty well with them.”
There will be many other evenly matched games as the tournament tips off Tuesday with quarterfinals games starting at 7 p.m., followed by semifinals Thursday at 7 p.m., and finals Saturday at 7:30 p.m. All games are hosted by the higher seed.
Here’s a look at each team:
#1 SAINT VINCENT (21-4, 14-2 PAC)
The Bearcats are seeking their first PAC title since winning four straight from 2013-16. They are led by senior forward Tom Kromka, whose 17.0 ppg are tied for the best in the PAC and his 8.3 rpg rank second. Sophomore guard David Stephen is also averaging 15.3 points per game. The Bearcats average 80.2 points as a team and they have a plus-8.0 average scoring margin, which are 8.6 and 2.8 points better than any other PAC team, respectively. However, they lost back-to-back road games in early February to Westminster, 87-80, and against a Bethany team, 68-63, that was the lone team not to qualify for the tournament.
#2 GROVE CITY (14-10, 10-6 PAC)
Since losing at Saint Vincent, 76-63, on Jan. 23, the Wolverines went 5-1 in PAC games down the stretch to earn the second seed.
“They run their system to a T,” said Siroki, whose Titans lost in overtime, 87-82, to Grove City last Wednesday. “They play hard and tough and their defense is hard to score against.”
Junior forward James Wells ranks third in the PAC with a 16.9 scoring average, including 30 and 21 points in his last two games. Grove City is seeking its eighth PAC title and its first since 2010.
#3 WESTMINSTER (11-14, 9-7 PAC)
The Titans won five straight games before losing their regular-season finale at Grove City on Wednesday, 87-82. Westminster went 1-4 in PAC games when senior guard Austin Armwood (13.2 ppg) went down with an injury, accounting for more than half of its PAC losses. That included a two-point loss at Saint Vincent, a team the Titans beat at home by seven in overtime after taking a 19-point lead midway through the second half. The Titans won their only PAC title in 2004.
“Our guys battled all year long and we’ve had our share of injuries that we had to overcome, but we’re playing our best basketball at the end of the year,” Siroki said.
#4 CHATHAM (16-9, 9-7 PAC)
Chatham, 4-2 in its last six PAC games, plays even tougher defense than Grove City, at least statistically, as the Cougars limit opponents to a PAC-low 66.3 points per game. Three senior guards are averaging double figures: Isaiah Brown (16.6 ppg), Will Sandherr (14.2) and Alex Schoppen (10.6). First-year coach David Richards turned around the Cougars, who went 4-14 in the PAC last year, which was one win better than the turnaround of their first-round opponent, Washington & Jefferson.
#5 WASHINGTON & JEFFERSON (10-15, 8-8 PAC)
Unlike Chatham, the Presidents, who also went 4-14 last year, struggled down the stretch this year, going 2-6 in their last eight games. Sophomore guard Cameron Seeman leads W&J in both points (15.8) and rebounds (5.1 rpg). W&J is seeking its 10th PAC title and its first since 1995.
#6 WAYNESBURG (8-17, 7-9 PAC)
The Yellow Jackets didn’t win consecutive games all season, but they did win in their last visit to Westminster, their first-round opponent, 81-75, on Dec. 5. Sophomore guard Matt Popeck (17.0 ppg), who didn’t play in Saturday’s 74-72 loss at Bethany, is tied with Kromka for the PAC’s best scoring average. Waynesburg’s lone PAC title came in 1996.
#7 GENEVA (9-16, 6-10 PAC)
The Golden Tornadoes, seeded sixth in the tournament last year, knocked out Saint Vincent as Geneva’s semifinal finish was its best result since joining the league. The GTs are led by junior guard/forward Ethan Moose (15.9 ppg).
#8 THIEL (7-18, 5-11 PAC)
The Tomcats start the tournament as the eighth seed, where they finished last year after placing third in 2017. Thiel is led by sophomore guard Terrance Holloway (15.6 ppg). Thiel is seeking its fourth PAC and its first since 2000.
