University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
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vs. #3 West Liberty (WV) University - 02/21/13

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ATH11_057_NovakN_T#3 West Liberty Defeats Mountain Cats, 98-83
     02/21/13... (Box Score) Nick Novak (Murrysville, Pa.) poured in 27 points, but NCAA Division II third-ranked West Liberty (WV) University turned a four-point halftime lead into a 15-point second half advantage, en route to a 98-83 WVIAC win over the Mountain Cats, Thursday night in the Sports Center.  Pitt-Johnstown dropped to 14-11 overall and 10-11 in conference-play.
     The Mountain Cats started strong.  Bill Luther's (Gibsonia, Pa.) 3-pointer gave Pitt-Johnstown a 16-7 lead five minutes into the game, but West Liberty outscored the Mountain Cats 9-2 over the next two  minutes to pull to with a basket on Seger Bonifant's 3-pointer. 
     Alex Falk hit a 3-pointer that gave the Hilltoppers the first lead of the night at 34-31 with 7:59 left in the half, and West Liberty would build it to as many as eight, before going into the halftime break up 52-48.
     Jordan Miller's (Vinco, Pa.) 3-pointer early in the second half cut it to 54-53, but the Hilltoppers increased it to 10 on Alex Falk's bucket, then to 15 at 89-74 on another Falk basket with 5:57 to play.
     The Mountain Cats got as close as 11 when Luther hit a 3-pointer at 1:02, but West Liberty never let Pitt-Johnstown get any tighter.
     Novak scored 27 points and Ian Vescovi (Patton, Pa.) added 17 points and five rebounds to pace four Mountain Cats who scored in double figures.  Miller finished with 14 points, and Luther chipped-in 12 points, on four 3-pointers.  Andrew Cressler (Pittsburgh, Pa.) scored nine points in the loss.
     Novak stands in second-place on the Mountain Cat All-Time Scoring List (1,953 pts.) and is the all-time leader in assists (531 assts.). Miller is Pitt-Johnstown's all-time leader in 3-point field goals with 290 and is also 10th on the scoring list (1,351 pts.) and 10th on the assists list (320 assts.), while Luther is fourth on the career 3-point field goals list with 176.
     Pitt-Johnstown shot an impressive 56.6% (30-53) from the field, including 11-16 from 3-point range.  The Mountain Cats were also 12-13 from the free-throw line.  West Liberty ended the night shooting 54.4% (37-68) from the floor and 17-35 from behind the 3-point line.  The Hilltoppers connect on 7-8 from the charity stripe.
     Falk's game-high 32 points and seven rebounds led West Liberty.  Chris Morrow (18 points), Bonifant (11 points), and C.J. Hester (10 points) also scored in double-figures for the Hilltoppers, who improved 26-1 overall and 20-1 in the WVIAC.
     The Mountain Cats close out the regular season with a Senior Day doubleheader with the Lady Cats on Saturday against Seton Hill University, before opening the 2013 WVIAC Tournament on Tuesday.  The Lady Cats will tip-off on Saturday at 1 p.m., with the men's game to follow at 3 p.m.


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