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at Concord (WV) University - 12/10/11

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ATH11_057_NovakN_TLate Basket Sinks Mountain Cats at Concord
     12/10/11... (Box Score) Pitt-Johnstown battled back from a 15-point halftime deficit to tie it with under a minute to play, but Javaugh Manuel's bucket with two seconds to play lifted Concord (WV) University to an 89-87 victory over the Mountain Cats, Saturday afternoon in Athens, W.Va.  Nick Novak's (Murrysville, Pa.) 23 points led the Mountain Cats, now 5-5 overall and 3-2 in the WVIAC.
     After trailing 58-43 at the break, the Mountain Cats battled back to tied the game at 87 with 29 seconds to play on Novak's basket, but with time running down, Manuel's jumper fell to give the Mountain Lions the two-point win.
     Cory Willard's 3-pointer 1:29 into the game put Concord up 5-0, but Pitt-Johnstown came back to tie it 8-8 on Patrick Grubbs' (Turtle Creek, Pa.) lay-up at 14:46.
     However, Concord used a 25-10 run over the next five minutes to build a 17-point lead.  Manuel hit a 3-pointer to start the run at the midway point, before a Corey Neeley 3-pointer capped it and put the Mountain Lions in front 44-27 with 6:17 left.
     The Mountain Cats answered with a quick 10-3 spurt to pull to within 10 on a Jordan Miller (Vinco, Pa.) bucket and two of Novak's 13 first half points, but Concord regained control and extended the lead to 58-43 at the break after Manuel connected on his fourth 3-pointer with under a minute to go.
     Natwan Young's basket on Concord's first possession of the second match the Mountain Lions' 17-point first half lead, before Pitt-Johnstown stormed back with a 22-9 run over the next 7:21 to pull to withing five at 65-69 on Miller's 3-pointer.
     Concord responded with a Romel Kemp dunk to push the lead back to 11 at  82-71 with 5:46 remaining.
     The Mountain Cats answered again.  Free-throws from Novak and Miller made it 85-83, before Grubbs scored to tie it with 1:28 left on the clock.
     Afer the teams exchanged baskets, Manuel hit the jumper with two seconds left to lift the Mountain Lions to the victory.
     Novak's 23 points, six rebounds, and five assists led four Mountain Cats who scored in double figures.  Grubbs had a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Miller finished with 16 points.  Matt Palo (North Huntingdon, Pa.) chipped-in 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench, and Bill Luther (Gibsonia, Pa.) tallied seven points and five rebounds.
     Pitt-Johnstown shot 48% (29-61) from the field, but just 3-10 from 3-point range and 26-39 from the free-throw line.  Concord shot 47% (31-66) from the floor, and connected on 10-22 from behind the arc and 17-20 from the charity stripe.
     Grubbs stands in sixth-place on the Mountain Cat All-Time Scoring List with 1,467 points and third on the all-time rebounding list with 842 rebounds. Novak is 18th on the scoring list with 1,062 points and ninth on the assists list with 302, while Jordan Miller is eighth on the all-time 3-point field goal list with 149.
     Manuel's game-high 26 points, including five 3-pointers, led Concord.  Kemp had 20 points and six rebounds and Neeley ended with 20 points to lead the Mountain Lions, now 5-3 overall and 4-2 in the WVIAC.
     The Mountain Cats return home to close out the first semester with a conference doubleheader with the Lady Cats against Shepherd (WV) University on Saturday.  The Lady Cats will tip-off against the Rams at 1 p.m., followed by the men’s game at 3 p.m.


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