The Pitt-Johnstown men's and women's basketball teams will open PSAC-Crossover play with a pair of doubleheaders in the Sports Center this weekend.  On Saturday, Pitt-Johnstown welcomes East Stroudsburg, before hosting Kutztown on Sunday.  Both doubleheaders will tip-off with the women's game at 1 p.m.
 
      Pitt-Johnstown, 4-1 under seventh-year Head Coach Mike Drahos', will open PSAC-play this weekend.  The Mountain Cats are coming off of a lopsided 87-42 victory over West Virginia Wesleyan, Wednesday evening in the Sports Center.  Pitt-Johnstown hit 13 3-pointers and got career-highs of 19 points from Makalyn Clapper and 11 points from Lindsay Shuke.  Gabrielle Smith scored 16 points on a night that saw nine Mountain Cats score five or more points.  Pitt-Johnstown also defeated Wheeling (WV), 68-56, in last Saturday's home-opener.
      Nationally, Smith ranks second in free-throws made (35), fourth in free-throws attempted (44), and 22^nd in scoring (20.6 ppg.), and Olivia Fasick is 14^th in steals (17) and 19^th in steals per game (3.4 spg.).  Alli McGrath is 16^th in scoring for Pitt-Johnstown at 22.8 ppg.
      Smith ranks 24^th on the Pitt-Johnstown All-Time Scoring List with 1,179 points and 31^st on the all-time rebounding list with 477.
 
      First-year Head Coach Stephanie Del Preore's East Stroudsburg Warriors are 2-1 following a 65-61 home win over LeMoyne (NY) on November 13.  Tiffany Lapotsky scored a game-high 22 points and Julia Kutz added 15 points for the Warriors.  East Stroudsburg also defeated Frostburg State (MD) and suffered a loss to Wheeling (WV) in the Shippensburg MEC/PSAC Challenge on November 8 and 9.
      Jordan Hertz ranks fifth nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (7.0) and eighth in assists per game (7.0) for the Warriors.
      Pitt-Johnstown and East Stroudsburg last met on November 19, 2017 in the Sports Center.  The Warriors got a game-high 21 points from Lapotsky and 17 points from Noelle Powell in an 81-69 win over the Mountain Cats.  Smith had a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds, and Olivia McCabe scored 13 points to pace Pitt-Johnstown.
 
      Head Coach Janet Malouf's (26^th-year) Kutztown squad was 1-3 overall and 0-0 in conference-play prior to Saturday's PSAC-opener at Clarion.  The Golden Bears got a game-high 22 points and six rebounds from Rylee Derr, who scored her 1,000^th career point, and 12 points from Zoe Zerman in Wednesdays' 65-61 win at Jefferson.  Kutztown also suffered a 73-68 loss at Holy Family on November 13.
      Nationally, Derr ranks 25^th in 3-point field goals made (13) and 41^st in 3-point field goals per game (3.25).
      Last season, Kutztown came into the Sports Center on December 8 and dealt Pitt-Johnstown a 67-49 loss.  Derr scored a game-high 15 points and Brianna Tarabocchia added 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds to lead four Golden Bears who scored in double figures.  Smith and Alli McGrath each scored 14 points, and Maddie Shanahan pulled down eight rebounds for the Mountain Cats.
 
      Following this weekend's games, Pitt-Johnstown will break for Thanksgiving before closing out its five game homestand with a non-conference game against Salem (WV) on December 4 at 6 p.m. in the Sports Center.  The Mountain Cats will then travel to a PSAC Crossover game at Bloomsburg on December 7.
 
 
      Head Coach Bob Rukavina's Mountain Cats improved to 3-1 with a lopsided 94-76 over Ohio Dominican University last Saturday in the Sports Center.  Pitt-Johnstown raced out to a 35-point first half lead and cruised to the victory.  John Paul Kromka, the PSAC West Athlete of the Week, and the PSAC West Defensive Player of the Week for the second straight week, collected a double-double of 26 points and 11 rebounds to go along with a game-high five blocks.  Joe Batt (13 points) and Jared Jakubick (11 points) also scored in double figures for the Mountain Cats.  Pitt-Johnstown also defeated Carlow, 101-81, in the 2019-20 home opener on November 13 behind Fred Mulbah's 19 points and Caiden Landis' 18 points.
      Nationally, Kromka ranks ninth in blocked shots per game (3.0), 11^th in total blocks (12), and 15^th in field goal percentage (70.0%).  Mulbah ranks 17^th in assists per game and 18^th in total assists (26), and Landis is 29^th in field goal percentage (66.7%).
      Josh Wise enters the weekend ranked 19^th on the Pitt-Johnstown All-Time Scoring List with 1,219 points, 12 points shy of Bill Luther (2010-14) for 18^th-place on the list.
 
      East Stroudsburg, also 3-1 on the year, has won its last three games since opening the season with a 63-49 loss to Virginia State on November 8.  The Warriors defeated Cheyney, 101-51, last Saturday and Felician (NJ), 104-80, on Monday.  Carlos Pepin's 16 points and nine rebounds paced five Warriors who scored in double figures.  Kitt Najee Walls had 14 points, while Mike Millsip, Shamir Johnson, and Troy Jones all scored 11 points for East Stroudsburg.
      Zach Sabol ranks 31st nationally in blocks per game at 2.0, and Pepin ranks 34th in steals per game a 2.67.
      Pitt-Johnstown and East Stroudsburg have met 12 previous times since the 1991-92 season, and the Warriors hold a 7-5 advantage in the series.  East Stroudsburg has won the last four matchups, including a 99-88 win over the Mountain Cats in the Sports Center on November 19, 2017.  Steve Harris scored 21 points, and Kobi Nwandu and Ralik Wise each scored 15 points to lead six Warriors who scored in double figures.  Josh Wise scored a game-high 27 points and Isaac Vescovi added 19 points to pace five Mountain Cat double-figure scorers.
 
        Head Coach Bernie Driscoll's (20^th season) Kutztown Golden Bears were 1-3 before beginning PSAC-play yesterday at Clarion.   After opening the season on November 8 with a 79-73 victory over Lincoln, Kutztown has lost its last three games, including a 98-79 setback at No. 23 Jefferson on Tuesday.  Wesley Butler's 19 points and Da'Quan Granberry's 18 points led four Golden Bears who scored in double figures.  Ryan Bernstein collected 14 points, and Akello Mosby had 10 points and eight rebounds.
     Nationally for Kutztown, Bernstein and Butler are tied for the top-spot in free-throw percentage at 100%.
     Pitt-Johnstown holds a 9-4 advantage in the series that dates back to the 1990-91 season, including a 109-97 victory over the Golden Bears on December 8, 2018 in the Sports Center.   Wise scored 31points, Batt scored 28 points, and Kromka scored 23 to lead the Mountain Cats.  Anthony Lee's game-high 50 points and Moe Williams' 12 points paced Kutztown.
 
            After this weekend's games, the Mountain Cats travel to Puerto Rico to play three games over the Thanksgiving break, before playing a PSAC Crossover game at Bloomsburg on December 7.  Pitt-Johnstown will play its next game in the Sports Center on January 6 against Gannon.