Drew Magestro scored 20 points to lead four Mountain Cats who scored in double figures to help Pitt-Johnstown to a dominating 92-65 home-opening victory over Bloomsburg, Saturday afternoon in the Sports Center. The Mountain Cats moved to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the PSAC Western Division.
Between games of Saturday's doubleheader, Pitt-Johnstown had its new floor dedication and recognized Rich Ragan, a former Mountain Cat basketball standout and 2010 Athletics Hall of Fame inductee for his fundraising efforts.
Bloomsburg kept it close early. After
Josh Wise's lay-up put the Mountain Cats up 8-3 in the early going, the Huskies answered with a 12-3 run over the next 2:21, capped by Khary Mauras' 3-pointer, to go up 15-11.
The Mountain Cats quickly tied on
Dale Clancy's basket and retook the lead for good at 19-17 on
Isaac Vescovi's bucket in the paint.
Pitt-Johnstown pushed it out to 10 on
Marcin Wiszomirski's lay-up with 1:46 left in the half and got a 3-pointer from
Olando King, Jr. and a conventional 3-point play from Wiszomirski with 10 second remaining to take a 46-42 halftime advantage.
Sam Saxton's steal and lay-up nine minutes into the second half got Bloomsburg to within eight at 62-54, but Pitt-Johnstown outscored the Huskies 30-11 the rest of the way.
Levi Masua's dunk at 8:26 increased the lead to 19, and Clancy's lay-up at 2:18 made it a 20-point game, before the Mountain Cats coasted to the 24-point victory.
Magestro had 20 points and five assists on 8-10 shooting from the field and 4-5 from 3-point range to lead Pitt-Johnstown. Vescovi scored 18 points and grabbed five rebounds, while Clancy had 17 points and five assists. The Mountain Cats also got 15 points and six rebounds from Wise and 11 points and four rebounds from Wiszomirski. Masua added eight points and seven rebounds.
After shooting 65.5% in the first half, the Mountain Cats ended the day at 59.0% (36-61). Pitt-Johnstown was also 7-16 from 3-point range and 13-14 from the free-throw line. The Mountain Cats held Bloomsburg to just 39.6% (21-53) shooting, including 8-23 from behind the 3-point line. The Huskies were also 15-20 from the charity stripe.
Mauras scored 20 points and Saxton had 10 points for Bloomsburg, which fell to 2-1 overall and 0-1 in the PSAC Eastern Division.
Pitt-Johnstown will host a PSAC doubleheader with the women's team against East Stroudsburg on Sunday at 1 and 3 p.m. in the Sports Center, before hosting a non-conference game against Lincoln on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
