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University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Athletics

PITT-JOHNSTOWN MOUNTAIN CATS

Men's Basketball

Mountain Cats Dealt 81-69 by West Liberty

12/01/2009

Patrick Grubbs (Turtle Creek, Pa.) scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Head Coach Bob Rukavina's Mountain Cats, but it wasn't enough, as West Liberty (WV) University remained unbeaten with an 81-69 WVIAC victory over Pitt-Johnstown, Tuesday night in the Sports Center. The Mountain Cats dropped to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in league play.
Andy Byer (Tire Hill, Pa.) hit a three-pointer to put the Mountain Cats up 16-12 five minutes into the game. In a tight first half, West Liberty countered and outscored Pitt-Johnstown 23-12 over the next 10 minutes to build a 35-28 lead with 4:35 remaining in the half.
After Danny Branch (Washington, D.C.) connected on a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 35-32, Pelle's three-pointer and two free-throws from Mike Mathey helped the Hilltoppers open-up their largest lead of the first half at 40-32 at the 3:09 mark.
The Mountain Cats kept it close, and Byer's third three-pointer of the half with :35 left, pulled Pitt-Johnstown to within 41-37 at halftime.
Pitt-Johnstown battled all the way back to regain the lead at 46-45 on Patrick Grubbs' (Turtle Creek, Pa.) lay-up and free-throw at 16:42.
Another basket by Grubbs knotted the score at 48, before the Hilltoppers used a 23-10 run to rebuild the lead to 71-58 with 7:47 to play. The Mountain Cats answered again. Nick Novak's (Murrysville, Pa.) lay-up ended a 9-0 Pitt-Johnstown run to cut it to 71-67 at 4:43, but it never got any closer. West Liberty outscored the Mountain Cats 10-2 the rest of the way to earn the 12-point win.
Grubbs led a balanced Mountain Cat attack that saw five Pitt-Johnstown players score in double-figures with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Novak had 14 points and five assists, while Branch scored 13 points, including three three-pointers, and pulled down six rebounds. Byer had 11 points, four rebounds and five assists, and Rudy Roberts (Cleveland, OH) chipped in 10 points and five rebounds off the bench.
Pelle's game-high 25 points led the way for West Liberty. Barry Shetzer (14 points), Mike Mathey (13 points) and Alex Falk (11 points) also scored in double-figures, while John Wolosinczuk grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds for the Hilltoppers, who improved to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the WVIAC.
The Mountain Cats host a WVIAC game against Salem International (WV) University on Saturday and a non-conference game against Clarion University on Monday. Both men's games will tip-off at 7:30 p.m. in the Sports Center.
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