Following impressive wins over Shepherd coming off of the holiday break on Friday, the Pitt-Johnstown men's and women's basketball teams will host their final PSAC Crossover doubleheader when Kutztown visits the Sports Center on Wednesday.  The women will tip-off at 5:30 p.m. with the men's game scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

    The Pitt-Johnstown women, under Head Coach Mike Drahos' (10th year), made it three straight wins and improved to 7-4 overall and 4-1 in the PSAC West after Friday's 77-48 PSAC Crossover victory at Shepherd.  The Mountain Cats, tied for second in the PSAC West, got a game-high 19 points and five assists from Olivia Fasick.  Hayden Taylor and Makalyn Clapper had 14 and 13 points, respectively for Pitt-Johnstown, while Ashley Norling added 11 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.  Prior to the holiday break, the Mountain Cats defeated West Chester, 85-78, on Dec. 18 and Millersville, 60-54, on Dec. 19.
    Head Coach Janet Malouf's Kutztown squad, currently tied for second-place in the PSAC East standings, comes in at 5-6 overall and 3-2 in the PSAC East after a narrow, 48-47, home loss to California (PA) on Friday.  Abbey Hearn poured in a game-high 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Golden Bears.  Kutztown also got nine points from Casey Remolde and eight points from Zara Zerman.  The Golden Bears suffered a 61-57 loss at No. 11 Indiana (PA) on Dec. 18, before rebounding with a 67-55 win at Seton Hill on Dec. 19.
    Since the 2006-07 season, Pitt-Johnstown and Kutztown have met seven times, and the Golden Bears hold a narrow, 4-3, advantage.  In the last meeting on Nov. 24, 2019, the Mountain Cats picked up a 79-64 victory in the Sports Center.  Gabrielle's Smith's 21 points and six rebounds and Fasick's 15 points paced five Pitt-Johnstown players who scored in double figures. Rylee Derr netted a game-high 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and Brianna Taraboccia tallied 12 points and six boards for the Golden Bears.
    The Mountain Cats open PSAC Western Division play with a doubleheader with the men's team against Gannon on Saturday starting at 1:00 p.m. in the Sports Center, before traveling to Clarion for a conference game next Wednesday.

    Head Coach Bob Rukavina (34th-year) men's squad picked-up their third straight win and improved to 8-3 overall and 4-1 in the PSAC West with a 79-62 victory at Shepherd on Friday.  Pitt-Johnstown, tied for second in the PSAC West, shot 60% from the floor and got a game-high 24 points and six rebounds from John Paul Kromka and 10 points and seven rebounds from Jared Jakubick to lead a group of eight Mountain Cats who scored six or more points.  Prior to the holiday break, Pitt-Johnstown dealt West Chester an 81-79 loss on Dec. 18 and Millersville a 68-56 setback on Dec. 19.
    Kromka ranks fifth on the Mountain Cat All-time Scoring List (1,602 points) and fourth on the all-time rebounding list (801 rebounds).  His 267 career blocks are five shy of Mark Hensel's record of 272 and his 264 assists are four shy of 15th on the Pitt-Johnstown All-Time List.  Drew Magestro is currently tied for eighth with Nick Mezyk on the all-time 3-point field goals list with 170.
    Kutztown, under 22nd-year Head Coach Bernie Driscoll, is 4-6 overall and tied for first-place in the PSAC East at 4-1 following Friday's 92-82 against California (PA).  Jalen Bryant scored a game-high 28 points, Robert Tucker had 18 points and a game-high nine rebounds, and Kyree Generett scored 18 points for the Golden Bears.  On Dec. 18, Kutztown suffered an 83-72 loss at No. 2 IUP, before rebounding with a 91-77 win at Seton Hill on Dec. 19.
    Pitt-Johnstown has won the last two meetings, including an 84-77 victory in the Sports Center in the last meeting on Nov. 24, 2019.  Caiden Landis had a team-high 19 points, while Kromka and Fred Mulbah each scored 15 points, and Josh Wise chipped-in 14 points for the Mountain Cats.  Tarojae Brakes' game-high 30 points and Ryan Bernstein's 14 points led the way for the Golden Bears.

    Pitt-Johnstown will tip-off PSAC West action with a doubleheader against Gannon on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. in the Sports Center, before visiting Clarion for conference games next Wednesday.