The Pitt-Johnstown men's and women's basketball teams will host a non-conference doubleheader to kick-off the Thanksgiving holiday, Tuesday afternoon in the Sports Center.  At noon, the Mountain Cat men will welcome Windber Area Elementary School for Education Day and take on Point Park, before the women battle West Virginia State at 3 p.m.
 
The Mountain Cat men, under 37^th-year Head Coach Bob Rukavina, are 2-2 after splitting games in two tournaments.  The Mountain Cats bounced back from a narrow loss to Lincoln in the season opener with a 79-75 win over Concord (WV) behind Jay Rose's 22 points and Baden Forup's 16 points and nine rebounds at the IUP Hilton Garden Inn Tip-Off Classic on Nov. 14-15.  On Saturday, Vinnie Cugini scored a game-high 20 points and Cedric Rault added 18 points, five rebounds, and six assists in an 85-72 win over D'Youville (NY) in the first round of the IUP Classic played in the Sports Center due to a scheduling conflict in the Kovalchick Complex.  Cugini then tallied a career-high 24 points and seven rebounds, and Will Kromka chipped-in 18 points and seven rebounds to pace four Pitt-Johnstown double figure scorers in an 87-79 setback to Ashland (OH) in the second round played in Indiana.
 
First-year Head Coach Ryan Grandits' and the Point Park Pioneers are 0-1 after tipping-off the season with an 86-74 loss at Edinboro last Wednesday.  Kaden Warner poured in a team-high 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Greg Williams added a dozen points to guide four Pioneers who scored in double figures.
 
The Mountain Cats hold a 16-13 advantage in a series that dates back to the 1972-73 season.  However, the teams have not met since splitting a pair of games during the 2000-01 season.  Pitt-Johnstown took the first of the two-game season series, 87-71, but the Pioneers answered with a 99-93 victory in the second meeting.
 
Pitt-Johnstown will visit Davis & Elkins for a non-conference game on Saturday, before hosting Penn State-Greater Allegheny next Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Sports Center.
 
 
The Pitt-Johnstown women, under second-year Head Coach D'wan Shackleford-Vickroy, is 1-4 after splitting two games over the weekend.  Camille Dominick had 18 points and six rebounds, and freshman Aubree Price poured in a career-high 17 points to lead the Mountain Cats to a, 97-75, victory over West Liberty (WV) in Saturday's home-opener.  On Sunday, M'laya Ainsworth scored 15 points, including two free-throws with :06 left to send it to overtime, and Riley Childress collected 14 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, but Point Park outlasted Pitt-Johnstown, 73-68.
 
First-year Head Coach Whitney Bays and the West Virginia State Yellow Jackets come in at 2-2 following a 71-48 loss at Thomas Moore (KY) on Wednesday and a 90-76 win over Bluefield State (WV) on Friday.  The Yellow Jackets got a game-high 24 points from Bailee Goins, 20 points and 17 boards from Lillian Jackson, and 13 points and a dozen rebounds from Latisha Parris in the win over Bluefield State.
 
Former WVIAC foes Pitt-Johnstown and West Virginia State have met 14 times since the 2004-05 season and the Mountain Cats hold a 9-5 advantage in the series, including an 81-80 win in Institute, W.Va. on Jan. 2, 2025.  Sophia Ott had a game-high 20 points and seven rebounds, and Belle Bosch added 18 points and seven boards to pace four Mountain Cat double-figure scorers.  Emyah Fortenberry's 14 points and game-high 12 rebounds led four Yellow Jackets who scored in double figures.
 
Pitt-Johnstown will break for Thanksgiving, then travel to West Chester on Dec. 6 to begin PSAC Crossover-action.  The Mountain Cats will then return to the Sports Center on Dec. 13 to host a non-conference game against Shippensburg at 1 p.m. in the Sports Center.