Mountain Cats Fall, 67-61, at East Region #2 California (PA)

02/07/2007

The Mountain Cat basketball team battled back on the road from a 16-point halftime deficit to tie the score 61-61 with 2:54 to play, but East Region #2 California University (PA) finished the game on a 6-0 run to hold off Pitt Johnstown, 67-61, Wednesday night. Junior forward Chris Gilliam (Baltimore, MD) scored a game-high 18 points to lead Head Coach Bob Rukavina's Mountain Cats, now 16-7 on the season.
After trailing 43-27 at halftime, Pitt Johnstown clawed its way back to tie the score late in the game, but the Vulcans made a jump shot and four free-throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
Gilliam wrapped up the night shooting 8-10 from the field and 2-4 from the free-throw line to lead three Mountain Cats who scored in double figures. Senior guard Dwight Hines (Aliquippa, Pa.) added 13 points, and sophomore guard Quinton Davis (Pittsburgh, Pa.) chipped in 11 points, three rebounds and four assists. Sophomore center Kyle Goldcamp (Pittsburgh, Pa.) added five points and four rebounds, while senior guard J.J. Schumacher (Castle Shannon, Pa.) dished out a game-high seven assists. Gilliam also pulled down a team-high five rebounds in the loss.
With his 13 points, Hines moved into 12th place on the Mountain Cat All-Time Scoring List with 1,059 points, while Gilliam is now tied for 15th place on the scoring list with Steve Scorpion (2002-06) with 1,040 career points.
The Mountain Cats shot an impressive 53.3% (24-45) from the field and 38.9% (7-18) from behind the three-point line, while holding the Vulcans to just 22-51 (43.1%) shooting for the game. However, California (PA) connected on nine of its 21 three-pointers and 14 of its 21 free-throws. Pitt Johnstown, which was out rebounded 31-27 and commited 20 turnovers, was 6-10 from the free-throw line.
James Hairston led the Vulcans with 13 points. Osborne Gardner, Kelvin Green and Theron Colao all added 11 points. Green also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds for California (PA), now 18-4 on the year.
The Mountain Cats begin a three-game home stand against East Region #8 Unviersity of the District of Columbia on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. in the Sport Center. Pitt Johnstown will also host Mansfield University on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

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