STEUBENVILLE, Pa:  Senior Brian Heinle (Brackenridge, PA, St. Joseph) scored a game high 18 points to pace the Pitt-Greensburg men's basketball team to a 77-68 road victory over Franciscan University Wednesday evening.

Pitt-Greensburg improves to 11-9 overall and 11-2 in the AMCC while the Barons fall to 4-15 overall and 2-12 in the league.  The Bobcats remained tied for 2^nd place with Medaille College, and sit just a game out of 1^st place behind Penn State Behrend in the AMCC with only 5 games remaining. UPG's 11 conference victories are the most since the 2005-06 season when they went 14-4.

On Wednesday, the two teams played a relatively close first half, before UPG went on a quick 8-0 midway through the first half, thanks to a pair of three point baskets by freshmen Joe Mancini (Pittsburgh, PA, North Allegheny).  UPG went into halftime with a 40-31 lead. 

Pitt-Greensburg never trailed in the game and stretched their second half lead to as many as 20 points with 7:46 remaining.  The Bobcats shot an even 50% from the floor in both halves, finishing the game 29 for 58 shooting.  The Barons, coincidently shot an even 40% from the floor in each half, and both teams grabbed exactly 31 rebounds apiece. 

Heinle led all scorers with 18 while grabbing 7 rebounds and dishing out 4 assists.  He now sits an even 20 points away from 1,000 at 980 for his career.  Heinle looks to become the program's 8^th 1,000 point scorer in school history.

Also shining on Wednesday was Marcus Thomas (Uniontown, PA, Uniontown) with 11 points and 7 rebounds, followed by Rocco Contristano (Pittsburgh, PA, Keystone Oaks) who just missed a double-double with 9 points and 10 rebounds.  Mancini cashed in 3 of 4 attempts from three point range to chip in 9 points off the Bobcat bench.

Pitt-Greensburg now turns their attention to Medaille College for a critical AMCC showdown in Buffalo, NY this Saturday.  Both teams sit at 11-2 in the league and the Mavericks currently hold the tiebreaker with their 82-79 victory in Greensburg back on January 10^th.  Both teams have already clinched a playoff spot in the AMCC tournament, Saturday's game will be for positioning, with a first round bye potentially at stake.  Tip off for Saturday is 2pm.