Head Coach
Bob Rukavina and the fourth-seeded Pitt-Johnstown men's basketball team, make their fifth consecutive appearance in the PSAC Championship Tournament when they host fifth-seeded Gannon University, in Monday's opening round at 7 p.m. in the Sports Center.
Admission Prices: $10 total adults | $5 student-age
Free admission for PSAC students with valid ID
The winner of Monday's opening round match-up advances to a PSAC Quarterfinals on Wednesday at Western Division top-seeded Indiana (PA).
The top six teams from each division earned an opportunity to win the PSAC Men's Basketball Championship, while the top two teams from each division earned a first-round bye. The highest remaining seed from the West will host the semifinals and finals. The tournament winner earns an automatic bid to the NCAA DII Men's Basketball Tournament.
The Mountain Cats, winners of three of their final four regular season games, improved to 16-12 overall and closed out the PSAC schedule at 11-10 following Wednesday's 71-58 home victory over Mercyhurst.
Josh Wise matched his career-high with 31-points and eight rebounds and
John Paul Kromka had 16 points, five rebounds, three blocks, and four steals. Pitt-Johnstown also got nine points from
Caiden Landis and, and eight points and a game-high nine assists from
Fred Mulbah.
Wise currently stands in 22
nd-place on the Mountain Cat All-Time Scoring List with 1,140 career points. He is now five points shy of Dwight Hines (2002-07) for 21
st-place and seven points away from Don Elzer (1973-77) for 20
th-place on the scoring list.
Wise's 17.6 points and 5.8 rebounds pace four Mountain Cats who average double figures in scoring. Kromka is second in scoring (15.2 ppg.) and leads the team in rebounding (7.9 rpg.), while Mulbah is averaging 10.6 points and a team-high 5.1 assists per game. Landis rounds out the double figure scorers at 10.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
Fifth-seeded Gannon, 11-17 overall and 9-12 in the PSAC under 14
th-year Head Coach John T. Reilly, won its last two games, including a 73-55 victory at Slippery Rock on Saturday. Daryl Porter finished with game-highs of 24 points and 12 rebounds, and Matt Johnson had 16 points and six rebounds to lead the Golden Knights.
Porter's 12.4 points and Olawoye's 10.5 points per game lead a balanced Gannon line-up the features eight players averaging five or more points per game. Kevin Dodds (5.9 rpg.) and DeAnte Cicero (4.9 rpg.) pace the Golden Knights in rebounding.
Gannon leads the all-time series between the schools, 24-6. The Mountain Cats and Golden Knights split a pair of regular season games this season. On January 9, Victory Olawaye scored a game-high 22 points, and Porter had 15 points and nine rebounds to help Gannon hold on for a 64-61 win in Erie. Mulbah's 16 points and Wise's 10 points paced Pitt-Johnstown. The Mountain Cats came back with a 76-65 win in the Sports Center on February 2 behind Wise's 18 points. Kromka had a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds, and
Joe Batt chipped-in 17 points for Pitt-Johnstown. Joe Fustine and Cicero had 16 and 15 points, respectively for the Golden Knights.
First Round | Monday, March 4
At Higher Seed
Quarterfinals | Wednesday, March 6
At Higher Seed
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School names are linked to sport page |
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| Quarterfinal No. 1 |
Winner of FR 1 at No. 1 (W) IUP |
7:30 PM |
| Quarterfinal No. 2 |
Winner of FR 2 at No. 2 (E) West Chester |
7 PM |
| Quarterfinal No. 3 |
Winner of FR 3 at No. 1 (E) East Stroudsburg |
7 PM |
| Quarterfinal No. 4 |
Winner of FR 4 at No. 2 (W) Slippery Rock |
7 PM |
Semifinals | Saturday, March 9
At Highest Remaining West Seed
* In the semifinals, the highest remaining seed from host division will play the lowest remaining seed from the opposite division. This may require a change of opponents from the original bracket
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| Semifinal No. 1 |
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TBA |
| Semifinal No. 2 |
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TBA |
Championship Day | Sunday, March 10
Same as Semfinals
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| Championship Game |
Winner of SF 1 vs. Winner of SF 2 |
TBA |
