Mountain Cats Earn Second Straight NCAA Tournament Bid;
Pitt-Johnstown to Play Top-Seeded Gannon University
03/08/09...For the second straight year and the fourth time in school history, the Mountain Cat men's basketball team has earned a bid to the NCAA Division II post-season tournament when the pairings were released Sunday night. Pitt-Johnstown, 24-7 and seeded #8 in the Atlantic Region, will take on the host school and #1-seeded Gannon University in Saturday’s opening round at the Hammermill Center in Erie, Pa. Gannon enters the tournament with a 27-3 overall record. This year’s Atlantic Regional Tournament will be played Saturday, Sunday and next Tuesday with the champion advancing to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, MA, March 25, 26 and 28.
The Mountain Cats earned an automatic bid to this year’s tournament by winning the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) Tournament Championship. Pitt-Johnstown defeated #2-seeded Alderson-Broaddus (WV) College, 74-73, in double overtime on Saturday to claim the title.
Head Coach Bob Rukavina has posted a 326-118 record in 20 seasons at the helm of the Mountain Cat program. Rukavina, the “winningest” coach in Pitt-Johnstown men’s basketball history, has led the Mountain Cats to all four of their NCAA Tournament appearances. Rukavina guided Pitt-Johnstown to back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths following the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons. The Mountain Cats earned their first-ever bid in 1996-97 after posting a 21-6 record. In 1997-98, Rukavina guided the Mountain Cats to a 24-5 record, a second consecutive NCAA Tournament bid and a school-record 24 wins, before losing in the East Regional Semifinals to eventual Regional Champion Fairmont State (WV) College, 75-74. Last season, Pitt-Johnstown advanced to the East Region Semifinals with an 83-64 victory over Mount Olive (NC) College in the opening round, before suffering an 81-73 loss to Millersville University in the semifinals.
The Mountain Cats, who finished fourth in the WVIAC regular season, enter the Atlantic Region Tournament with a 24-7 overall record and a 15-5 mark in conference play. Pitt-Johnstown opened the WVIAC Tournament with an 89-72 win over #13-seeded Davis & Elkins (WV) College in the Sports Center, before completing the tournament at the Civic Center in Charleston, WV. The Mountain Cats earned a 93-85 win over #5-seeded Glenville State (WV) College in the quarterfinals and a 67-55 victory over #9-seeded Wheeling Jesuit (WV) University in the semifinals. Pitt-Johnstown then claimed the championship with the 74-73 double overtime win over Alderson-Broaddus behind 30 points and 10 rebounds from WVIAC Tournament Most Valuable Player Marcus Tullis (Johnstown, Pa.).
Pitt-Johnstown is led by First Team All-WVIAC selections Tullis and Quinton Davis (Pittsburgh, Pa.). Overall, Tullis’ 18.5 points per game and Davis’ 18.1 points per game pace the Mountain Cats. WVIAC All-Freshman Team choice Patrick Grubbs (Turtle Creek, Pa.) is the team’s leading rebounder (8.3 rpg.) and third leading scorer (10.5 ppg.). Senior guard Matt Ionadi (Pittsburgh, Pa.) is fourth in scoring (9.1 ppg.), while fellow senior guard William Sharpe (Johnstown, Pa.), Pitt-Johnstown’s all-time leader in assists, is averaging 6.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game.
Tullis is currently third on the Pitt-Johnstown scoring list with 1,553 points and seventh on the rebounding list with 600. Tullis is 209 points away from Chris Gilliam (2004-08) for second place on the scoring list and five rebounds behind Davis for sixth place on the rebounding list. Davis is in fifth place on the Mountain Cat All-Time Scoring List (1,431 points), sixth on the rebounding list (605 rebounds) and seventh on the all-time assists list (364 assists). Davis needs 59 points to tie Quinn Harris (1988-92) for fourth place on the scoring list. He is also eight rebounds shy of Chris Rhames (1995-95) for fifth place on the rebounding list and 32 assists away from Tony Mazonkey (1975-79) for sixth place on the assists list. Sharpe stands in first place on the assist list with 516.
Gannon, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) regular season and tournament champions, is 27-3 on the year. The Golden Knights are led by former Mountain Cat Kyle Goldcamp, who is averaging over 19 points and nine rebounds per game.
ATLANTIC REGION SEEDS: #1 Gannon, #2 Virginia Union, #3 Kutztown, #4 Johnson C. Smith (N.C.), #5 Alderson-Broaddus (WV), #6 West Virginia State, #7 Indiana University (PA), #8 PITT-JOHNSTOWN