Men's Hoops falls at #18 Christopher Newport, 76-70
Box Score
NEWPORT NEWS, Va: Traveling on the road against the #18th ranked team in the nation, the Pitt-Greensburg men's basketball team held their own, falling to perennial powerhouse Christopher Newport by a score of 76-70 on Monday evening.
The Bobcats drop to 5-5 on the year while Christopher Newport improves to 9-1. UPG's Marcus Thomas (Uniontown, PA, Uniontown) picked up right where he left off before the holiday break, recording his 4th double-double of the year with an even 15 points and 15 rebounds. Sophomore Jerell Figueroa (Dover, PA, Dover Area) added 15 points and 5 assists in 34 minutes of work, while Nick Anderson (Brockport, PA, Brockway) chipped in with 11 points.
The Bobcats shook off some of the rust from a 2 week layoff, shooting just 30% in the first half. However the defense held the Captains to just 31% from the floor in the first half, and the Bobcats only trailed by six points at the half.
UPG had a strong turnaround in the second half, shooting 61% from the floor, including 10-15 from three point range. A three pointer from Thomas gave the Bobcats a 2 point lead at the 11:54 mark of the second half.
Christopher Newport responded quickly and in a big way, using a 14-0 run to push their lead to 12 points with just over 7 minutes remaining. It was seemingly the big difference in the game, even though the Bobcats continued to fight back and even brought it to a 2 point game thanks to a Jarrett Shannon (Duncansville, PA, Hollidaysburg) three pointer with just 3:27 remaining.
Christopher Newport again had the answer for the Bobcats, responding with a 8-0 run that helped seal the victory. CNU was a total of 24-31 from the free throw line in the second half of the game.
The Bobcats ended up outshooting the Captains on the night, 46% to just 34% for CNU. The Bobcat defense held CNU to just 4-29 (13%) from three point range. CNU did edge the Bobcats on the boards, 42-37.
UPG will resume conference play on January 8th and look to remain unbeaten in the AMCC when they travel to Cresson, PA to take on Mt. Aloysius. Tip-off is set for 6pm.
