Mountain Cat Men Fall, 82-72, at #13 IUP

01/31/2005

The tough schedule for the Mountain Cat men's basketball team continued Monday night with a trip to local rival and #13-ranked Indiana University (PA). Junior guard Steve Scorpion (Murrysville, Pa.) drained five three-pointers and ended with a team-high 19 points, but Pitt Johnstown was unable to erase a 12-point halftime deficit and fell to the Indians, 82-72.
     Scorpion, a two-time Independent Player of the Week selection, finished 7-10 from the field and 5-7 from three-point range, but it wasn't enough to carry the Mountain Cats to a victory. Senior forward Paul Byer(Johnstown, Pa.) collected 14 points, including four three-point field goals, to move within four points ofJosue' Nieves for 13th on the Mountain Cat All-Time Scoring List. Byer, who now has 1,019 career points, also pulled down four rebounds. Junior guard Joey Tutchstone (Vandergrift, Pa.) added 13 points (7-9 free-throws), six rebounds and three assists, while senior center Carlos Cogsdell (Homestead, Pa.) tallied nine points and six rebounds. Junior guard Dwight Hines (Aliquippa, Pa.) had nine points and a team-high five assists, and freshman forward Chris Gilliam (Baltimore, MD) scored eight points and pulled down four rebounds for Pitt Johnstown, now 8-11 on the season.
     IUP, which held a 38-26 halftime lead, out rebounded the Mountain Cats 49-35 and shot 46.8% (29-62) from the field, while holding Pitt Johnstown to 38.2% (26-68) shooting from the field. The Mountain Cats knocked down nine three-point field goals and made 11 of their 13 free-throws. The Indians were 7-20 from three-point range and 17-26 from the free-throw line.
The Indians, also ranked fourth in the East Region, were led by Ayyub Ali's game-highs of 23 points and 16 rebounds. Marc Williams scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Eddie Peterson chipped in 13 points to lead IUP, which improved to 16-4 on the season.
     Pitt Johnstown returns home to host the University of Charleston (WV) on Monday, February 7 at 8:00 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the Lady Cat basketball team. The Lady Cats will host West Virginia State College at 6:00 p.m.

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