Both Saint Vincent basketball teams will make their Presidents' Athletic Conference playoff debuts in the friendly confines of the Robert S. Carey Center on Tuesday night.

The SVC women (22-3, 14-2 PAC), the PAC's second seed, plays host to seventh-seeded Chatham (10-15, 5-11) beginning at 6pm, while the Bearcat men (18-7, 10-4), also seeded second, wrap up the doubleheader at 8pm against Grove City.

After spending the past four years as provisional members of the PAC and NCAA Division-III following the school's move from the NAIA, the Bearcats will both be making their first ever appearances in the PAC playoffs.

"After the hiatus from the playoffs," said SVC men's coach DP Harris, "We're very happy to have tournament play back.  I think this is important to our former Bearcat players and alumni who helped us through the transition, and I know this is an exciting time for the people who have seen the transition to the NCAA go full term."

The Bearcat men earned the second seed after a thrilling 91-87 comeback win at Thomas More on Saturday afternoon.  Trailing 55-38 at halftime, the Bearcats out-scored the Saints 55-32 over the final 20 minutes, ending the game on a 32-13 run in the final nine minutes.  Dennis Bassich, who on Monday was named the PAC Player of the Week, erupted for a career-high 32 points, going 5-for-7 from behind the three-point line, to lead four double-digit scorers for the Bearcats.

Saint Vincent also received help from Washington & Jefferson, which defeated Bethany on Saturday afternoon to knock the Bison into third place.  Should Saint Vincent win this evening, the Bearcats are assured of a second home playoff game, on Thursday night, against either Bethany or Waynesburg.

"We're excited to be the number two seed," Harris said.  "It's big having the opportunity to hopefully host two playoff games."

The Bearcats swept the regular season series with the Wolverines in a pair of tightly-contested games, winning 58-48 in Grove City on Jan. 15th, before picking up a 56-53 victory last Wednesday night.  In the first meeting, the score was tied at 37 with 10 minutes left in regulation, before the Bearcats ended on a 21-11 run to pull away.  The second contest was even closer, featuring 14 ties and 17 lead changes, and wasn't sealed until a Bassich three-pointer with 40 seconds left in regulation.

Last season's PAC champions, the Wolverines are going through a rebuilding year, as seven of the team's 15 players are either freshmen or sophomores, compared to just two seniors.  Despite the 5-20 record, Harris knows his team can't look past its opening round opponent.  Ten of Grove City's 20 defeats came by single digits, and the Wolverines boast the stingiest defense in the conference, allowing 62.9 points per game.

"I think Grove City is a very well-coached team," said Harris.  "They played us tough here last week, and it looks like they're playing their best basketball of late.  They always seem to play us tough.  We can't look past them, and, right now, starting the tournament, their record is the same as ours - 0-0."

The Saint Vincent women are coming off of their worst defeat of the season, seeing their eight-game winning streak snapped with a 73-48 loss at top-ranked and PAC leader Thomas More on Saturday.  The 48 points scored were the fewest by SVC in over two years, as the Saints limited the Bearcats to just 27 percent from the floor.

"We took a lot of positives out of seeing how Thomas More capitalized on our weaknesses," said interim women's coach Jimmy Petruska.  "We know what our weaknesses are now, we will work on them to get better, and we have to focus now on the playoffs."

Despite the defeat to the Saints, the Bearcats have put up impressive numbers throughout the season.  The team has the top-ranked scoring offense in the conference, averaging 71.4 points, while the defense is allowing just 53.8 points, second fewest to Thomas More.

Individually, the Bearcats have been led on the season by junior Brittany Sedlock.  The 5'9" forward finished the regular season second in the PAC in scoring, averaging 16.6 points, while her 9.3 rebounds per game was good for the top spot in the conference.  She has turned in eight double-doubles, while she also ranks among PAC leaders in steals (74- third), field goal percentage (.472 - fifth), and free throw percentage (.710 - ninth).

Sedlock is one of three Saint Vincent women among the scoring leaders in the PAC, as senior guard Maria Baroffio ranks seventh (13.6 ppg) and sophomore forward Devin McGrath 11th (13.6 ppg).  Baroffio is fourth in the league with 44 three-point field goals, while the Bearcat defense averages 15.9 points per game, good for fourth nationally, spearheaded by sophomore Melissa Mansur's PAC-best 82 thefts.

The Bearcats swept the season series with Chatham, defeating the Cougars 58-46 on Dec. 11th and 69-46 on Jan. 29th.  Sedlock averaged 21 points and 9.5 rebounds in the two victories, as Saint Vincent forced a combined 49 turnovers.  Since joining the PAC in 2006, Saint Vincent is 8-1 against Chatham, with the lone setback coming in December 2008.

The Cougar offense averages a conference-low 54.2 points, but Chatham is allowing just 59.7 points per, third lowest mark in the PAC, thanks to a deliberate, slowdown system of play.  The Cougars have been spurred by sophomore Colleen Kiss, who is averaging 10.7 points, and senior Kayla Hilko, a two-time All-PAC pick that became the first Chatham player in team history to score 1,000 career points earlier this season.

"Chatham is a team that will never quit," said Petruska.  "They've won three in a row on the road, and that's huge, with them having to come in here against us.  We have to focus on their main scorers in Kiss and Hilko.  We have to cover their shooters, we have to run the floor, push the tempo, and take good shots."

With a record of 61-16 over the past three years, Petruska is relieved that his team will finally be able to compete for a PAC title, and he agrees with Harris on the significance of being tournament eligible.

"It means a lot," Petruska said.  "This is a direct result of the hard work we've been putting in since the provisional stage.  It means a lot to the last few senior classes, and to our seniors this year.  It shows that hard work pays off.  We're finally able to let the tigers loose after looking at that steak dinner.  We've been hungry for four years."

In the PAC women's tourney, the semifinals and finals are played at the highest remaining seed, and with a victory, this could mean a second trip in as many weeks to Crestview Hills, KY and Thomas More College for the Bearcats.  The women's semifinals will take place Friday evening, with the Bearcats facing either Grove City or Bethany.