The Pitt-Johnstown men's and women's basketball teams will play host to a PSAC doubleheader against Slippery Rock, Saturday afternoon in the Sports Center.  The women will tip-off against The Rock at 1 p.m., before men's Head Coach Bob Rukavina goes after win No. 500 at 3 p.m.
 
     The Mountain Cats look to bounce back from a tough 82-74 PSAC loss to Mercyhurst, Wednesday night in the Sports Center.  Head Coach Bob Rukavina, who needs one victory to reach 500, and the Mountain Cats had their six-game winning streak halted and are now 14-3 overall and 8-2 in the PSAC West.  Josh Wise scored 18 points to lead four Pitt-Johnstown double figure scorers against the Lakers.  Caiden Landis (13 points, 8 rebounds), Marcin Wiszomirski (11 points), and John Paul Kromka (10 Points) also scored in double figures.
     Through his first 30+ seasons, Rukavina, the 2006-07 National Independent Coach of the year, has led the Mountain Cats to a 499-346 overall record and all four of the program's NCAA Division II Tournament appearances and seven 20-win seasons.
     Rukavina was also tabbed the West Virginia Athletic Conference (WVIAC) Coach of the year in 2007-08 and the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division Coach of the Year in both 2015-16 and 2018-19.
     Nationally for the Mountain Cats, Fred Mulbah ranks third in NCAA Division II in assists (127) and fifth in assists per game (7.5).  Kromka is third in blocks (47), seventh in blocks per game (2.76), and 12^th in field goal percentage (64.2%) while Landis ranks 22^nd in field goal percentage (59.3%).
     Wise currently stands in 15^th-place on the Mountain Cat All-time Scoring List with 1,321 points.
     Second-year Head Coach Ian Grady's Slippery Rock team has won its last two games and comes in at 8-8 overall and 4-6 in the PSAC West.  The Rock dealt Seton Hill a 78-54 loss last Saturday, then held off Millersville, 81-80, on Wednesday.  Micah Till scored 28 points, Will Robinson, Jr. had 21 points and nine rebounds, and Donovan Walker had 10 points in the win over the Marauders.
     Nationally for the Rock, Jared Armstrong is 27^th in 3-point field goal percentage (44.9%), and Robinson, Jr. ranks 32^nd in rebounds (143), 40^th in rebounds per game (8.9), and 66^th in scoring (19.4 ppg.).
     Pitt-Johnstown and Slippery Rock have met 54 times since 1972 and the Mountain Cats hold a 33-21 advantage.  Last year, the teams split two games with each team winning on its home court.  On January 23, Armstrong scored 22 points, and Till added 20 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Rock to an 87-70 win.  Kromka had a game-high 27 points, and Wise had 19 points and 10 rebounds for Pitt-Johnstown.  The Mountain Cats answered with a 98-84 Senior Day win in the Sports Center on February 23.  Wise's game-high 30 points paced five Mountain Cat double figure scorers.  Armstrong's 21 points led Slippery Rock.
 
      The Pitt-Johnstown women, under Head Coach Mike Drahos, made it two straight wins and improved to 9-7 overall and 4-6 in the PSAC West with a 76-69 victory over Mercyhurst, Wednesday night in the Sports Center.  Gabrielle Smith scored a game-high 28 points, while Olivia Fasick added 17 points to lead the Mountain Cats.
      Nationally, Smith ranks second in NCAA Division II in free-throws made (111), third in free-throws attempted (132), and 59^th in scoring (17.9 ppg.), while Alli McGrath is 54^th in free-throw percentage at 85.0%.  Olivia Fasick ranks 37^th in both assists (69) and steals (39), 57^th in assists per game (4.3), and 59^th in steals per game (2.44).
      Smith enters the game ranked 13^th on the Pitt-Johnstown Scoring List (1,362 points) and 26^th on the rebounding list (527 rebounds).
      Head Coach Bobby McGraw's (6^th-season) Slippery Rock squad snapped a four-game losing streak with a 77-75 PSAC Crossover victory over Millersville on Wednesday.  Brooke Hinderliter had 29 points and nine rebounds, and Madison Johnson collected 23 points and nine rebounds to lead The Rock.
      Hinderliter ranks third in the country in free-throws made (103) and fourth in free-throws attempted (128).  Hinderliter is also 29^th in scoring (19.6 ppg.) and 51^st in free-throw percentage (85.2%).
      Last year, Pitt-Johnstown swept the season series from Slippery Rock.  On January 23, Smith had a game-high 23 points and seven rebounds and McGrath added 14 points for the Mountain Cats.  Ciara Patterson had 21 points and Morgan Henderson had 13 points and a game-high 13 rebounds to lead The Rock.  Pitt-Johnstown completed the sweep with a 65-61 Senior Day victory in the Sports Center on February 23 behind McGrath's game-high 28 points, and Smith's 23 points.  Hinderliter led Slippery Rock with 21 points.
 
      Pitt-Johnstown hosts a PSAC doubleheader against nationally-ranked Indiana (PA) on Wednesday starting at 5:30 p.m. in the Sports Center, before visiting Seton Hill for a conference doubleheader next Saturday.