Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Athletics

PITT-JOHNSTOWN MOUNTAIN CATS
Ali Single
79
Winner Pitt.-Johnstown Pitt-J 1-1,0-0 PSAC
75
Concord Conc 0-2,0-0 MEC
Winner
Pitt.-Johnstown Pitt-J
1-1,0-0 PSAC
79
Final
75
Concord Conc
0-2,0-0 MEC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Pitt.-Johnstown Pitt-J 41 38 79
Concord Conc 40 35 75

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Hunter Muro

Mountain Cats Outlast Concord (WV) for First Victory

Rose, JayINDIANA, Pa. — Pitt-Johnstown made multiple clutch shots down the stretch to outlast Concord (WV) in the closing minutes of an entertaining 79-75 victory to wrap up IUP's Hilton Garden Inn Tip-Off Classic on Saturday night at Memorial Field House.

The Mountain Cats evened their record at 1-1 behind Jay Rose, who poured in a team-high 22 points and pulled down five rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench. For the second straight game, the sophomore guard led the team in scoring after posting 17 points in a narrow setback to Lincoln on Friday night.

Baden Forup contributed 16 points, a team-high nine rebounds and three assists. Vinnie Cugini pitched in 11 points and four rebounds, and Adam Bilinsky recorded 10 points, seven rebounds and two steals.

It was Cugini and Bilinsky who combined to go 3-for-4 from the free throw line over the final 37 seconds that helped seal the game.

Neither team led by more than four throughout the final 20 minutes. Trailing 67-63 with seven minutes remaining, the Mountain Cats stormed back with an 8-2 run capped by a 3-pointer from Rose to take a lead that would never fade away.

Leading 73-71 off a miss by Concord, Cugini connected on a critical 3-pointer at the 3:18 mark to afford the Mountain Cats enough breathing room to survive.

Freshman Ryan Calo, who tallied eight points, gave the Mountain Cats their largest first half lead at 31-21 with less than seven and a half minutes remaining. They led 41-40 at the break after shooting 42.1% from the field and 8-of-11 at the charity stripe.

Pitt-Johnstown was more efficient in the second half, going 50% (14-for-28) from the floor. There were 11 total lead changes, six of them coming over the final 20 minutes. Defensively, the Mountain Cats limited the Mountain Lions to just a 40% (28-of-70) mark from the floor and a 27.8% clip (5-for-18) from beyond the arc.

Pitt-Johnstown will have a week off before playing host to D'Youville (NY) University at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22 as part of the IUP Thanksgiving Classic that was moved to the Sports Center.

Print Friendly Version