GREENSBURG, Pa: Senior Brian Heinle became the 8^th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points, as he dropped 20 in a losing effort to Hilbert College 99-83 Saturday afternoon in Greensburg.

The Bobcats and Hawks now sit tied at 12-4 in the conference with just two games remaining.  UPG holds the tiebreaker over Hilbert for the #3 seed based on their earlier win over Penn State Behrend. 

Saturday's game between UPG and Hilbert was as fast paced, up tempo as it gets. There was a ton of energy in Chambers Hall after the senior day ceremonies and the anticipation for Heinle's 1,000^th point could be felt with the crowd's reaction after each field goal attempt. 

Heinle scored points 997 and 998 on a layup with 12:51 left in the first half to cut the Hilbert lead to 13-12 early on.  After the Bobcats fell behind by 10 with under 9 minutes to play, Heinle took it upon himself to not only get that 1,000^th point, but to also get UPG back in the game.  Heinle converted a layup for the historic mark, then off a turnover just 2 seconds later drained a three pointer to cut the Hawks lead in half at 32-27, sparking a Hilbert timeout and sending the crowd into a frenzy.

The Hawks maintained the lead for virtually all of the first half, but with the scored tied 50-50 and just seconds remaining in the half, UPG's Marcus Thomas hit a desperation three pointer at the buzzer to send UPG into the break with a 53-50 lead. Hilbert shot nearly 68% from the floor in the first half, and astonishing number, yet the Bobcats weathered the storm and were the ones with the three point advantage, having shot 64% from the floor themselves.

In the second half, UPG struggled from the field, shooting just 30% from the floor, well below their season average, while Hilbert stayed hot shooting 62% from the floor.  The Hawks built a double digit lead midway thru the second half and after losing an early 5 point lead, UPG was unable to regain the upper hand and ultimately left Chambers Hall with a 16 point defeat.

Heinle led the Bobcats on senior day, dropping 20 points in 35 minutes of work.  Thomas had a solid game for UPG putting in 17 points and grabbing 8 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists.  Mike Connelly also had 17 points on 6 of 9 shooting while junior guard Jerell Figueroa had 14 points to go along with 7 assists.
Finally, with his 9 point performance tonight, Rocco Contristano creeps closer to that 1,000 point mark as he now sits just 55 points back with 2 regular season games and at least 1 playoff game remaining.

Pitt-Greensburg is back home this Wednesday when they host Mt. Aloysius College for an 8pm tip.

UPG won the previous matchup 110-104 in Cresson, PA back on January 19^th.  The Bobcats are assured a home playoff game for the first time under 5^th year head coach Sean Strickland and will look to win their first conference championship since the 1999-2000 season.