CRESSON, Pa:  A pair of free throws by Rocco Contristano broke a 104-104 tie with just 35 seconds left as the Pitt-Greensburg men's basketball team hung on for a 110-104 road victory over AMCC foe Mt. Aloysius College Monday evening.

Pitt-Greensburg evens its overall record at 8-8 while improving to a league best 8-1 in the AMCC.  The Mounties fall to 6-10 on the season and 4-5 in conference play.

The Mounties were shooting lights out in the first half, posting a staggering 64% mark from the floor on 22 of 34 shooting.  However, the Bobcats managed to withstand the furious offensive attack and trail just 55-54 at halftime largely because of the play of sixth man Mike Connelly.   Connelly came off the bench to put up 20 first half points, including 4 three point buckets.

Mt. Aloysius built an early five point lead in the second half, but a poised and collective Bobcat unit fought back again, grabbing a 68-67 lead at the 15 minute mark on a jumper by Jerell Figueroa.  UPG had erased double-digit second half deficits in consecutive games, so there was no panic on the Bobcat bench.

The game would be a true back and forth battle from that point, with no team leading by more than 3 points the rest of the way, until the game's final seconds, when UPG sank its free throw to ice the game.

There were 14 lead changes on the night, with both teams flexing its offensive muscle.  Pitt-Greensburg was paced by Connelly who finished with a career-high 30 points on 11 of 15 shooting and 5 of 7 from three point range.  Figueroa added 24 points and 5 assists on the night, while Contristano added 17 points and 6 rebounds, going a perfect 7 for 7 from the free throw line.  Forward Marcus Thomas posted another double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing a team high 11 rebounds for the Bobcats.

Pitt-Greensburg has been rolling in the new year, now having won 4 in a row, and 5 of 6 since the calendar flipped to 2015.  It was also the second straight 100 point performance for a Bobcat offense that is playing its best basketball of the season. UPG will look to stack another W this Saturday when they host D'Youville College for a 3pm tip in Chambers Hall. 

In their previous matchup, UPG defeated D'Youville  87-77 on the road in the AMCC opener.