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University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Athletics

PITT-JOHNSTOWN MOUNTAIN CATS

Men's Basketball

Mountain Cats Defeat Ohio Valley 85-58 for Sixth Straight Win

02/14/2008

Chris Gilliam (Baltimore, MD) scored a game-high 20 points, grabbed seven rebounds and made five steals to help the Mountain Cat basketball team solidify its hold on first place in the WVIAC in an 85-58 win at Ohio Valley (WV) University, Thursday night. Head Coach Bob Rukavina, who won his 298th game at Pitt Johnstown, has guided his team to six straight wins and an 18-5 overall record and a 15-2 record in conference play.
The Mountain Cats opened the game on a 16-4 run over the first 6:05. Pitt Johnstown built the lead to 19 points at the 2:28 mark, before taking a 46-24 halftime lead. The Mountain Cats continued to dominate in the second half. Pitt Johnstown increased the lead to 72-37 with 9:35 to play, before cruising to the 27-point victory.
Gilliam, who moved into fourth place on the Mountain Cat All-Time Rebounding List, finished the night shooting 9-13 from the field and 2-4 from the free-throw line to lead four Mountain Cats who scored in double figures. Matt Ionadi (Pittsburgh, Pa.) scored 15 points and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, while Danny Branch (Washington, D.C.) added 12 points on four three-pointers off of the bench. Quinton Davis (Pittsburgh, Pa.) rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points, four rebounds and six assists. Coach Rukavina also got nine points from Marcus Tullis (Johnstown, Pa.), eight points and six assists from Andy Byer (Tire Hill, Pa.) and seven rebounds from Steve Heidenthal (Clymer, Pa.) in the lopsided win.
With his 20 points, Gilliam now has 1,600 career points and stands in second place on the Mountain Cat All-time Scoring List, 473 points away from Justin Walther (1996-2000) for the top spot. With his seven rebounds, Gilliam moved into fourth place on the All-Time Rebounding List with 617. He is now 19 rebounds shy of Chuck Bradford (1976-80) for third place on the rebounding list.
Pitt Johnstown, which leads the nation in field goal percentage, shot 54.8% (34-62) from the field, 52.6% (10-19) from three-point range and 70.0% (7-10) from the free-throw line. The Mountain Cats held the Fighting Scots to just 22-62 (35.5%) shooting and just 7-29 (24.1%) from behind the three-point line. Ohio Valley connected on 7-14 from the charity stripe. Pitt Johnstown also out rebounded the Fighting Scots, 42-29.
Chris Leborious led Ohio Valley with 17 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while Stephen Camberis chipped in 10 points for the Fighting Scots, who dropped to 6-18 overall and 5-12 in the WVIAC.
The Mountain Cats return home to host Fairmont State (WV) University and celebrate Senior Night on Saturday, as part of a WVIAC doubleheader with the Lady Cats. The Lady Cats will play tip-off at 5:30 p.m., with the men's game to follow at 7:30 p.m.
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