Men's Basketball 6/14/2013 9:05:00 AM

Mountain Cats Escape With 72-63 Win at Salem Int'l.

02/18/2010

Danny Branch (Washington, D.C.) scored a game-high 20 points and moved into second -place on the Mountain Cat All-Time Three-Point Field Goals List to help Pitt-Johnstown break open a one-point game with seven minutes to play in a 72-63 victory at Salem International (WV) University on Thursday. The Mountain Cats have won three straight and improved to 14-10 overall and 10-9 in the WVIAC.
Brooks Ludwig gave Salem International a 2-0 lead on the first possession, but Branch hit back-to-back three-pointers, and Patrick Grubbs (Turtle Creek, Pa.) scored inside to give Pitt-Johnstown an 8-2 lead two minutes into the game.
The Tigers outscored the Mountain Cats 17-9 over the next 11 minutes to go up by two. Tori Patton's jumper tied it at 11, and Kendall Allison put Salem International back into the lead, 19-17 at 6:53.
Pitt-Johnstown scored the next six points, but the Tigers battled back to regain the lead 27-26 with two minutes left in the half. However, Nick Novak's (Murrysville, Pa.) bucket with 44 seconds left gave the Mountain Cats a slim 28-27 halftime advantage.
The Mountain Cats scored the first three points of the second half, but Ludwig's three-pointer at 15:43 gave the Tigers a 39-37 lead.
Neither team could build a lead larger that three for the next seven minutes until Rudy Roberts' (Cleveland, OH) rebound and put-back made it 50-45 in favor of Pitt-Johnstown with 8:46 remaining.
Salem International answered with two straight baskets to pull within one, but Pitt-Johnstown pushed the lead to seven at 63-56 on Steve Heidenthal's (Clymer, Pa.) free-throws with 3:54 to play.
The Mountain Cats never looked back. Branch's fourth three-pointer extended the lead to 70-59 with 1:29 on the clock, before Pitt-Johnsotwn held on for the nine-point win.
Pitt-Johnstown ended the night shooting 49.1% from the field, but just 4-13 from three-point range and 12-21 from the free-throw line. Salem International shot 48.3% with four three-pointers. The Tigers made thre3 of their six free-throw attempts.
Branch led all scorers with 20 points on 7-15 shooting, 4-9 from three-point range and 2-4 from the charity stripe to lead a balanced Mountain Cat attack. Grubbs had 16 points and seven rebounds, while Heidenthal added 12 points off the bench. Novak had nine points, five rebounds and a game-high seven assists, and Andy Byer (Tire Hill, Pa.) chipped in eight points and six asssists. Jordan Miller (Mineral Point, Pa.) pulled down five rebounds, and Roberts scored six points.
With his four three-pointers against the Tigers, Branch moved into second-place on Pitt-Johnstown's All-Time Three-Point Field Goals List with 175. He is 15 away from Steve Scorpion for the top-spot. Andy Byer's (Tire Hill, Pa.) 132 three-pointers are nine shy of Dwight Hines for eighth-place on the list.
Allison led Salem International with a double-double of 18 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Ludwig scored 16 points and Patton had 11 for the Tigers, who dropped to 2-22 overall and 2-16 in the WVIAC.
Pitt-Johnstown travels to a WVIAC doubleheader at Seton Hill University on Saturday, before celebrating Senior Night with a conference doubleheader against Fairmont State (WV) University on Tuesday beginning at 5:30 in the Sports Center.

Print Friendly Version