Erie, Pa:  The Pitt-Greensburg men's basketball team's season came to a close on Friday evening after falling to the Medaille Mavericks in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference semifinal round, 79-73.

The loss drops the #3 Bobcats to 14-12 to end the season as #2 Medaille improves to 17-7.

After falling behind 9-4 in the opening three minutes of Friday's semifinal, Pitt-Greensburg would answer with a three minute, 10-0 run capped by a Jerell Figueroa (Dover, PA, Dover Area) three pointer at the 13:59 mark.  A Marcus Thomas (Uniontown, PA, Uniontown) layup and foul shot would give the Bobcats their biggest lead of the half at 21-15 with 10:38 remaining.  The lead would change on three more occasions before the first would end.  Unfortunatley for UPG, Medaille would close the half's scoring and take a 35-34 advantage into halftime.

Despite trailing, Pitt-Greensburg would hold advantages in shooting %, 45% to 44%, 3-point %, 33% to 29%, free throw %, 100% (5-5) to 75% (2-12), and rebounding, 20-14.

The Bobcats were led by Figueroa's 12 points with Thomas and Brian Heinle (Brackenridge, PA, St. Joseph) each adding seven.

Pitt-Greensburg would have to play catch-up in the second as the Mavericks extended their lead 10 points with 7:38 remaining.  The Bobcats would trail 63-53, until a Rocco Contristano (Pittsburgh, PA, Keystone Oaks) layup at the 6:52 mark cut the deficit to eight and gave Contristano his 1000th career point as a junior.
 

The Mavericks seemed to always have an answer for the Bobcats who did their best to come from behind.  Two free throws by Mike Connelly (Butler, PA, St. Joseph) with 3:53 remaining would cut the lead to three, 67-64.  But thats as close as Pitt-Greensburg would get as Medaille stood strong down the stretch for the 79-73 victory.

On the night, Pitt-Greensburg would shoot 46% from the floor, 26% from three, and 94% from the foulline.  They'd also win the rebounding battle 39-32 but 18 turnovers that the Mavericks converted to 20 points was costly.

Figueroa paced Pitt-Greensburg with 21 points and was closely followed by Contristano whose big second half not only netted him his 1000th point, but 20 for the game as well.  Marcus Thomas turned in a double-double performance with 13 points and 12 rebounds and Brian Heinle chipped in with 11 in his final game in a Bobcat uniform.

Despite the loss, Pitt-Greensburg has a bright future to look forward to.  Coach Strickland's squads have consistently improved every season since his arrival and the Bobcats will graduate only one senior in Heinle.  Though his leadership and production will be tough to replace a strong returning core that includes, leading scorer Figueroa, 1000 point scorer Contristano, and perennial All-AMCC performer Marcus Thomas will look to do the job with the help of a promising supporting cast.  Another recruiting class coupled with the experienced returners sets the stage for continued success in the AMCC.