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vs. #12 Bowie State University - 01/22/05

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Mountain Cat Men Battle, But Fall Short At Home Against #12 Bowie State

     01/22/05...Head Coach Bob Rukavina and the Mountain Cat men's basketball team played their first game in the Sports Center since December 11.  However, they faced an very tough test against #12-ranked Bowie State (MD) University.  The Mountain Cats clung to a 33-32 halftime lead, but the Bulldogs clawed their way back to defeat Pitt Johnstown, 75-64.  Senior forward Paul Byer (Johnstown, Pa.) led the Mountain Cats, now 7-9 on the year, with 18 points.
     Pitt Johnstown built an eight-point lead on Dwight Hines' (Aliquippa, Pa.) layup with 14:49 to play in the game, but Bowie State immediately began to cut into the lead.  Three minutes later, the Bulldogs took the lead 49-48.  Bowie State never gave up that lead and went on to defeat the Mountain Cats by 11 points.
     Byer, who now has 978 career points, connected on 7-15 from the field and 4-9 from three-point range, while senior center Carlos Cogsdell (Homestead, Pa.) chipped in 15 points on 7-14 shooting and a team-high nine rebounds.  Cogsdell now has 511 career rebounds, one shy of moving into a tie with Glen Fisher (1976-1981) for seventh place on the Mountain Cat All-Time Rebounding List.
     Hines finished with 16 points, including four three-pointers, and six assists.  Junior guard Joey Tutchstone (Vandergrift, Pa.) added four points, three rebounds and a game-high nine assists for Pitt Johnstown.
     Although neither team shot extremely well from the field (41.3% for Pitt Johnstown and 44.4% for Bowie State), both teams played solid defense.  Bowie State got the job done from the free-throw line, connecting on 14-16, while the Mountain Cats attempted only two free-throws for the entire night.  Bowie State also out rebounded Pitt Johnstown 44-31 and held a 19-13 advantage on the offensive end.  Pitt Johnstown stayed in the game with its hot shooting from three-point range.  The Mountain Cats hit 11-24 from behind the three-point line, compared to just 5-21 for the Bulldogs.
     Bowie State's Letheal Cook paced the Bulldogs with game-highs of 29 points on 13-21 shooting and 13 rebounds.  Derick Payne and Brent Campbell chipped in 15 and 12 points respectively, and Isaiah Johnson grabbed 11 rebounds to help Bowie State improve to 14-2 on the season. 

Last Reviewed: January 23, 2005
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The University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown