The Pitt-Johnstown men's and women's basketball teams come off of the holiday break and will host a PSAC Western Division doubleheader against Clarion, Wednesday night in the Sports Center.  The women will tip-off against the Golden Eagles at 5:30 p.m. with the men's game to follow at 7:30 p.m.
 
Coach Mike Drahos' (6^th year) Pitt-Johnstown squad comes off of the holiday break at 6-5 overall and 2-2 in the PSAC Western Division after winning a pair of games to close out the first semester.  On December 18, Alli McGrath scored a game-high 25 points, while Gabrielle Smith had 17 points, and Maddie Shanahan had 12 points and nine rebounds in a 77-42 non-conference win over Cheyney.  The next night, Pitt-Johnstown earned a 62-58 PSAC Crossover victory over Millersville behind 21 points from McGrath and 16 points from Smith.
 
Clarion is 7-5 overall and 1-4 in the PSAC West under fifth-year Coach Jana Ashley, suffered a 92-38 exhibition loss at Division I Kent State (OH) on Monday.  Kadijah Dickson had 11 points and eight rebounds and Yndiah Bobo scored 10 points and dished out five assists. The Golden Eagles also suffered PSAC Crossover losses to Millersville on December 18 and Shippensburg on December 19.
 
Last season, Pitt-Johnstown and Clarion split a pair of conference games with each team winning on its home court.  On December 30, Bobo had 15 points and Jordan Bekelja added 14 points to lead the Golden Eagles to a 60-44 win in Clarion.  The Mountain Cats earned a the season split with a 65-55 victory in the Sports Center on February 3.  Olivia McCabe's double-double of 19 points and 16 rebounds and Tori Moreland's 10 points paced Pitt-Johnstown.
 
 
Head Coach Bob Rukavina's Mountain Cats, ranked ninth in the D2SIDA Atlantic Region Poll at 8-3 overall and 3-1 in the PSAC West, have won six of their last seven games.  Pitt-Johnstown got a game-high 15 points and eight rebounds from John Paul Kromka and 15 points from Marcin Wiszomirski to lead four Mountain Cat double figure scorers in a 99-62 non-conference win over Cheyney on December 18.  Pitt-Johnstown followed that up with a 77-71 PSAC Crossover victory over Millersville on December 19.  Kromka had 17 points and nine rebounds, while Fred Mulbah chipped-in 16 points and eight assists.  Josh Wise scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Mountain Cats.
 
Clarion, 3-6 overall and 1-4 in the PSAC West under fifth-year Coach Marcess Williams, is coming off of an 89-67 win over Penn State-Fayette on Sunday.  Elijah Cottrill's 26 points and Khari Williams' 21 points led four Golden Eagles who scored in double figures.  Clarion also suffered an 89-59 loss to Millersville and a 79-66 loss to Shippensburg in PSAC Crossover games on December 18 and 19.
 
Pitt-Johnstown and Clarion have met 54 times since the 1970-71 season and the Golden Eagles hold a 34-20 advantage.  However, the Mountain Cats have won the last six meetings and nine of the last 10, including a pair of victories last season. On December 30, 2017, Dale Clancy (19 points), Isaac Vescovi (18 points), and Wise (17 points) all scored in double figures to lead Pitt-Johnstown to a 74-59 win in Clarion.  The Mountain Cats completed the season sweep with an 86-67 win in the Sports Center behind 23 points from Vescovi and 20 points from Clancy on February 3.  Brandon Williams' 15 points paced the Golden Eagles.
 
Both Pitt-Johnstown teams travel to PSAC games at Indiana (PA) on Saturday and at Gannon next Wednesday.  Pitt-Johnstown will return home to host a conference doubleheader against Edinboro on Saturday, January 12.  The women will tip-off the doubleheader at 1 p.m. in the Sports Center, with the men's game to follow at 3 p.m.