The Pitt-Johnstown men's and women's basketball teams will open the Spring Semester with a PSAC doubleheader against Gannon, Monday night in the Sports Center.  The women will tip-off at 5:30 p.m., with the men's game against the Golden Knights to follow at 7:30 p.m.
 
      Head Coach Mike Drahos' Pitt-Johnstown women's team, 7-5 overall and 2-4 in the PSAC Western Division, look to bounce back from an 80-57 loss at ninth-ranked California (PA) on Friday.  Alli McGrath scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Mia Oterson and Ashley Norling scored nine and eight points respectively, to pace Pitt-Johnstown.  Prior to the holiday break, the Mountain Cats suffered PSAC Crossover losses at Shippensburg on December 20 and at Lock Haven on December 21.
      Nationally for the Mountain Cats, Olivia Fasick ranks 30^th in assists (57), 31^st in both assists per game (4.75) and steals (33), and 43^rd in steals per game (2.75), while Gabrielle Smith is 44^th in scoring at 17.4 points per game.
      Smith ranks 17^th on the Pitt-Johnstown All-Time Scoring List with 1,285 points, and 28^th on the rebounding list with 510 rebounds.
      The Golden Knights, under Coach Cleve Wright, who is in his 12^th overall season and first season in his second stint at Gannon, come in at 9-3 and 5-1 in the PSAC West.  Gannon has won four straight games, including a 72-53 home win over Edinboro on Friday.  Tori Obenrader scored 17 points and had six rebounds, and Haley Tewes added 12 points and 12 rebounds.
      Nationally, Boston McKinney ranks 44^th in assists (56) and 48^th in assists per game (4.67), and Tori Obenrader is 44^th in scoring for Gannon at17.4 points per game.
      Last season, Gannon and Pitt-Johnstown split a pair of PSAC games.  On January 9, McGrath scored 18 points, and Smith added 16 points and nine rebounds in a 68-61 Mountain Cat victory in Erie.  Nicole LaCava (17 pts.), Obenrader (15 pts.), and Chelsea Rourke (14 pts.) all scored in double figures for Gannon. The Golden Knights came back with a 59-40 win in the Sports Center on February 2 behind Rourke's 17 points and LaCava's 11 points.  McGrath and Smith led Pitt-Johnstown with 15 and 10 points, respectively.
 
 
     Head Coach Bob Rukavina, who enters the game with 496 career victories, and the Mountain Cats are ranked ninth in the most recent DII SIDA Atlantic Region Rankings at 11-2 overall and tied with Indiana (PA) for the top spot in the PSAC West at 5-1.  Pitt-Johnstown has won its last three games, including a 77-57 victory at California (PA) on Friday.  Fred Mulbah's 16 points, five rebounds and five assists led four Mountain Cat double-figure scorers.  Caiden Landis had 13 points and a game-high eight rebounds, John Paul Kromka had 13 points and seven rebounds, and Josh Wise added 12 points and seven rebounds.  Pitt-Johnstown also defeated Shippensburg, 81-73, on Dec. 20 and Lock Haven, 96-92 in overtime. on Dec. 21.
     Nationally, Mulbah ranks fifth in assists (94) and sixth in assists per game (7.2), while Kromka is fifth in blocks (40) and 10^th in field goal percentage (66.4%).  Landis ranks 14^th in field goal percentage at 63.2%.
     Wise enters tonight's game ranked 16^th on the Mountain Cat All-Time Scoring List with 1,258 career points.
     First-year Head Coach Kelvin Jefferson's Gannon Golden Knights, winners of three straight games, are 5-5 overall and 4-2 in the PSAC West.  Gannon got game-highs of 27 points and 11 rebounds from DeAnte Cisero 11 points, and eight rebounds from Victor Olawoye, and 10 points and eight rebounds from Michael Tertsea in a 79-59 home win over Edinboro on Friday.  Prior to the break, the Golden Knights earned a 74-67 win at Mansfield on Dec. 20 and an 89-84 win at Bloomsburg on Dec. 21.
     Nationally for Gannon, Chris Clancy is fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (50.0%) and 43^rd in 3-point field goals per game (3.0).
     Pitt-Johnstown and Gannon met three times last season, with the Mountain Cats winning two of the three match-ups.  Gannon, which holds a 24-7 advantage in the series that dates back to 1980, dealt Pitt-Johnstown a 64-61 loss in Erie on January 9.  The Mountain Cats responded with a 76-65 win in the Sports Center on February 2, before dealing the Golden Knights a 70-60 loss in the first round of the PSAC Tournament on March 4 behind Wise's game-high 19 points.  Daryl Porter led Gannon with 15 points.
 
     Both Pitt-Johnstown teams hit the road for PSAC games at Edinboro on Wednesday and Clarion on Saturday, before returning home to host a conference doubleheader against Mercyhurst on January 15 at 1 and 3 p.m. in the Sports Center.