GREENSBURG, Pa: For the first time in a decade, Pitt-Greensburg hosted a men's basketball playoff game and it was well worth the wait as the #3 seeded Bobcats rolled to an 88-72 victory over #6 D'Youville College Tuesday night in front of a rowdy Chambers Hall crowd.

UPG's Jerell Figueroa was the star of the night, dropping a career high 35 points in one of the most dominating performances in school history. Figueroa's 35 point performance was the 3^rd highest game total in school history and his seven 3-point baskets tied the school record for most in a game. He was a perfect 7 for 7 from three point range, the first to achieve that feat.

On Tuesday the Bobcats hot shooting helped them build an early double digit lead just 6:30 into the game and they never looked back.  UPG stretched the lead to as many as 23 in the first half and held a commanding 47-27 lead at the break behind Figueroa's 21 points. In addition, the Bobcat defense played a strong first half, holding the Spartans to just 11 of 46 shooting (23.9%) and forcing them to take tough shots.

The Bobcats shot 51% in the first half including 8 of 14 from three point range.

In the second half, DYC staged a furious 13-0 run to pull within 8 points at 58-50 with 11:53 remaining in the game. The Bobcats wouldn't let it get any closer, as they continued to score the ball and maintain a double digit lead the rest of the way. 

Junior Rocco Contristano played a tremendous second half, scoring 17 of his 19 points to help put away the Spartans.  Rocco was 11 of 12 from the free throw line in the second half, and as a team the Bobcats were 16 of 18 in the second frame, crushing any hope of a Spartan comeback.

Rounding out the scoring for the Bobcats was Marcus Thomas, who recorded a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

Pitt-Greensburg advances to the AMCC semi-finals for the first time under fifth year Head Coach Sean Strickland.  The Bobcats will square-off against #2 seeded Medaille College on Friday, Feb 27^th from the campus of #1 seed Penn State Behrend. The Mavericks got the better of the Bobcats in both regular season contests, but UPG will hope the third time is the charm as they are just two wins away from their first conference crown since the 1999-2000 season.  Tip-off for Friday's game in Erie is set for 8pm.

**Notes: with his 19 point performance tonight, Contristano now sits at 991 points for his career, just 9 shy of becoming the 9th 1,000 point scorer in program history.