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Pitt-Johnstown Seal

at Shepherd (WV) University - 01/28/13

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ATH11_064_VescoviI_TMountain Cats Stay Hot; Defeat Shepherd 77-60
     01/28/13... (Box Score) The Mountain Cats broke open a tight game with  22-7 run to close out the first half and start the second half  in a 77-60 WVIAC victory at Shepherd (WV) University on Monday.  Nick Novak (Murrysville, Pa.) scored 23 points, and Ian Vescovi (Patton, Pa.) added 18 points and 13 rebounds for Pitt-Johnstown, which has won four straight and improved to 12-7 overall and 8-7 in the WVIAC.
     Novak and Vescovi combined to score 17 of the Mountain Cats' first 19 points to stake Pitt-Johnstown to a 19-9 lead eight minutes into the game.
     Shepherd came back with a 15-4 run over the next 5:22 to take its first lead of the night at 24-23 on a Brantly Osborne 3-pointer with 6:44 remaining in the half.
     Following a pair of ties and five lead changes, the Mountain Cats outscored the Rams 9-3 over the final 2:22.  Two Andrew Cressler (Pittsburgh, Pa.) free-throws gave the lead back to Pitt-Johnstown, before Bill Luther's (Gibsonia, Pa.) dunk increased it to six.
     Another Osborne basket cut it to four, but Novak hit a jumper with time running down to give the Mountain Cats a 39-33 halftime advantage.
     Pitt-Johnstown took control to start the second half.  Novak's fastbreak lay-up six minutes into the second half extended the Moutain Cat run to 22-7 and pushed the lead out to 52-37.
     Vescovi's lay-up and free-throw extended it to 63-43 with 7:35 to play, and Pitt-Johnstown never let the Rams get any closer than 14 the rest of the way.
     Novak led all scorers with 23 points, while Vescovi collected a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds.  Cressler had 15 points and eight rebounds, and Jordan Miller (Vinco, Pa.) chipped-in eight points.  Luther had seven points and seven rebounds in the win.
     Novak stands in second-place on the both Mountain Cat All-Time Scoring List with 1,814 points and assists list (496), while Miller is Pitt-Johnstown's all-time leader in 3-point field goals with 271.  Miller is also 12th on the scoring list (1,268 pts.) and and 10th on the assists list (304).  Luther is seventh on the career 3-point field goals list with 162.
     The Mountain Cats shot 52% (27-52) from the field, while holding Shepherd to just 35% (23-65), including just 5-25 from behind the 3-point line.  Pitt-Johnstown hit 21 of its 26 free-throws.  The Rams were  8-15 from the charity stipe.
     Morgan McDonald and Chad Moore each scored 12 points to pace the Rams, who dropped to 11-7 overall and 8-6 in the WVIAC. 
     The Lady Cats host WVIAC doubleheaders with the MountainCats against Alderson-Broaddus (WV) College on Thursday and Glenville State (WV) College on Monday.  The Lady Cats will tip-off both doubleheaders at 5:30 p.m., with the men's game to follow at 7:30 p.m.


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