Mountain Cats Advance to WVIAC Title Game With 82-72 Win Over West Liberty State

02/29/2008

Chris Gilliam (Baltimore, MD) recorded game-highs of 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead Head Coach Bob Rukavina's Mountain Cat basketball team to an 82-72 win over #4-seeded West Liberty State (WV) College in Friday's Semifinals of the 2008 WVIAC Basketball Tournament. The Mountain Cats, 22-6 on the year, will take on #2-seeded Alderson-Broaddus (WV) College in Saturday's title game at 8:30 p.m. in Charleston, WV.
Gilliam finished the day 11-19 from the field with five of his 11 rebounds coming on the offensive end, while Danny Branch (Washington, D.C.) added 15 points, including 3-4 from behind the three-point line. Marcus Tullis (Johnstown, Pa.) collected 12 points and eight rebounds. William Sharpe (Johnstown, Pa.), Matt Ionadi (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Quinton Davis (Pittsburgh, Pa.) each chipped in 10 points. Sharpe also dished out eight assists and made eight steals.
With his 23 points, Gilliam now has 1,707 career points and stands in second place on the Mountain Cat All-time Scoring List, 366 points away from Justin Walther (1996-2000) for the top spot. With his 11 rebounds, Gilliam remains in third place on the All-Time Rebounding List with 668. He is now 207 rebounds shy of Walther for second place on the rebounding list.
The Mountain Cats shot 50% (31-62) from the field, 25.0% (3-12) from three-point range and 74% (17-23) from the free-throw line. Pitt Johnstown held the Hilltoppers to just 41% on 26-64 shooting from the field. West Liberty State knocked down 11 three-pointers and was 9-12 from the charity stripe.
Corey Pelle's 17 points led four Hilltoppers who scored in double figures. Chris Banal (16 points), John Wolosinczuk (13 points) and Ben Howlett (11 points) also scored in double figures for the Hilltoppers, who are now 23-6 on the season.

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