Head Coach Bob Rukavina's PSAC West third-seeded Pitt-Johnstown men's basketball team will make their sixth straight appearance in the PSAC Tournament with an opening round home game against sixth-seeded Slippery Rock, Monday night at 7 p.m. in the Sports Center.
 
Monday's winner advances to take on second-seeded Mercyhurst University, Wednesday night in Erie.
   
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 East will host the semifinals and finals. The tournament winner earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament.
 
Pitt-Johnstown, 21-8 overall and 15-7 in PSAC-play, closed out the 2019-20 regular season with a 93-82 setback at seventh-ranked and top-seeded Indiana (PA) on Saturday.  Josh Wise (16 pts.), Fred Mulbah (14 pts.), Drew Magestro (11 pts.), and Donovian Maxfield (10 points) all scored in double figures, while Mulbah dished out a game-high 10 assists, and John Paul Kromka chipped-in eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds against the Crimson Hawks.

Wise currently stands in eighth-place on the Mountain Cat All-Time Scoring List with 1,511 career points, 10 points shy of Danny Branch (2007-11) for seventh-place on the scoring list.  Wise also ranks 15^th on the all-time rebounding list with 510 rebounds, and 16^th on the all-time assists list with 257.  Mulbah currently stands in 10^th-place on the assists list with 340.
 
Kromka's 15.1 points lead three Mountain Cats averaging in double figures in scoring, while his 8.2 rebounds per game also pace the team.  Wise (12.1 ppg.) and Caiden Landis (11.2 ppg.) are also averaging in double figures in scoring, while Magestro (9.8 ppg.), Mulbah (9.5 ppg.), and Joe Batt (9.2) are all scoring over nine points per game. Wise and Landis are second and third in rebounding at 4.4 rebounds per game, and Mulbah leads Pitt-Johnstown in assists at 6.8 assists per game.
 
Slippery Rock, the No. 6 seed in the PSAC West, ended the regular season at 15-13 overall and 11-11 in conference-play following Saturday's 75-69 loss to Mercyhurst.  Micah Till scored a game-high 23 points and had six rebounds, Jared Armstrong scored 14 points, and Linsey Lashon collected 10 points for The Rock.
 
Through 28 games, Till (19.1 ppg.), Will Robinson, Jr. (17.1 ppg.), and Armstrong (13.9 ppg.) are Slippery Rock's top scorers.  Robinson Jr.'s 7.4 rebounds and Till's 6.6 rebounds per game lead The Rock, and Amonte Britt's 90 assists lead Slippery Rock.
 
Pitt-Johnstown and Slippery Rock split a pair of games in the regular season, with each team winning on its home court.  On January 18 in the Sports Center, the Mountain Cats held off Slippery Rock 72-69 to give Coach Rukavina his 500^th career victory.  Wise scored 21 points for Pitt-Johnstown, and Robinson, Jr.'s game-high 24 points paced The Rock.  On February 12, Slippery Rock evened the season series with a 78-75 win in Slippery Rock.  Kromka and Wise each scored 14 points to lead four Mountain Cat double figure scorers, while Till had a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds for The Rock.