Men's Basketball 6/14/2013 11:05:00 AM

Mountain Cats Fall to Alderson-Broaddus in WVIAC Tournament Title Game; Gilliam, Sharpe and Tullis Named to All-Tournament Team

03/01/2008

Chris Gilliam (Baltimore, MD) scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds, but #2-seeded Alderson-Broaddus (WV) College used an 11-4 run over the final 4:58 to earn a 71-64 victory over the top-seeded Mountain Cats in Saturday night's WVIAC Tournament championship game in Charleston, WV. Pitt Johnstown, 22-7 on the season, will wait until March 9 to see if it receivea an at-large bid to the NCAA Regional Tournament. The Battlers secured the WVIAC's at-large bid with the win.
Both finalists placed three players on the WVIAC All-Tournament Team. Alderson-Broaddus was represented by Terrell Eargle, Jimmy Williams, and Stan Hall. Pitt Johnstown's selections were Gilliam, William Sharpe (Johnstown, Pa.), and Marcus Tullis (Johnstown, Pa.). Other members of the ten-player team were Chris Banal (West Liberty), James Helton (WV State), Dannie Parker (Concord), and Thad McFadden (Fairmont State).
McFadden took the Galperin Award for high scorer, averaging 31.0 points per game in two contests. West Liberty State senior Dan Binggeli was honored with the Commissioner's Heart & Hustle Award, and Pitt Johnstown's Matt Ionadi (Pittsburgh, Pa.) was recognized with the George Springer Individual Sportsmanship Award.
Alderson-Broaddus climbed out to a 21-14 lead 10 minutes into the game, but the Mountain Cats answered with a 9-2 run to tie it 23-23 on Tullis' lay-up at the 7:16 mark of the first half. The Battlers rebuilt their lead to 33-28 with 2:18 left in the half, but Pitt Johnstown notched the final five points of the first half to even the score at 33-33 at halftime.
Tullis' jump shot at 13:33 of the second half gave the Mountain Cats a 41-40 lead, but Alderson-Broaddus went on an 18-8 run over the next 3:19 to build a 58-49 lead. Once again, Pitt Johnstown bounced back with an 11-0 run to tie the game at 58-58 on Gilliam's lay-up at 7:40. However, Sam Liggins' three-pointer with 4:48 to play broke open a 60-60 tie and ignited the 11-4 run to lift Alderson-Broaddus to the tournment title.
Gilliam finished 6-12 from the field and 7-7 from the free-throw line, while Tullis added 16 points on 8-11 shooting and three rebounds to account for the only other Mountain Cat to score in double figures. Quinton Davis (Pittsburgh, Pa.) had eight points, and Ionadi, Andy Byer (Tire Hill, Pa.) and Sharpe each chipped in six points. Sharpe also dished out a game-high 10 assists for Head Coach Bob Rukavina's team.
With his 19 points, Gilliam now has 1,726 career points and stands in second place on the Mountain Cat All-time Scoring List, 347 points away from Justin Walther (1996-2000) for the top spot. With his eight rebounds, Gilliam remains in third place on the All-Time Rebounding List with 676. He is now 199 rebounds shy of Walther for second place on the rebounding list.
The Mountain Cats wrapped up the night shooting 51% (25-49) from the field, but connected on just 4-9 from behind the three-point line, while the Battlers shot 50% (28-56) overall and made nine three-pointers. Pitt Johnstown was 10-10 from the free-throw line. Alderson-Broaddus made 6-9 from the line. The Battlers also had a 12-6 advantage in second chance points and held a 17-9 edge in points off the bench.
Liggins scored 19 points and Williams scored 16 points to lead four Battlers who scored in double figures. Eargle tallied 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds, and Zach Green had 10 points to help Alderson-Broaddus improve to 25-6.

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