CRESSON, Pa: Behind strong play from the senior class, the Pitt-Greensburg men's basketball team captured an AMCC first round playoff victory over Medaille College 80-66 on Wednesday night at Mount Aloysius College.

The Bobcats now move on to the semifinal round, where #2 seed Penn State Behrend awaits them in a rematch of a game played just this past Saturday.

Pitt-Greensburg would stake a six point lead in the first three minutes, thanks to three-pointers from Rocco Contristano and Matt Darby, along with a Mike Connelly layup.
The Mavericks erased that lead with an 11-0 run in the next five minutes, going ahead 13-8 with thirteen minutes remaining in the first half.

A three-point field goal minutes later by Jerell Figueroa would give UPG an 18-16 lead. From there, the Bobcats found their stride and would not trail for the duration of the contest.
Pitt-Greensburg took a 40-27 lead into the locker room at halftime. Shooting was a major factor in the first half, as the Bobcats outshot the Mavericks 47% to 33% in the period.
Medaille would cut the lead to nine points with a pair of free throws at the fifteen minute mark of the second half, but the Mavericks could draw no closer the rest of the way out.

A Marcus Thomas layup gave UPG a 56-41 lead with thirteen minutes left in the second half, and also gave Thomas his 1000^th point for his career. Thomas joins classmates Mike Connelly, Jerell Figueroa, and Rocco Contristano as the 4^th member of the 2016 senior class to reach 1000 points.

The senior class accounted for 71 of the 80 points in the victory. Figueroa and Contristano led the way offensively with 22 and 20 points, respectively. Thomas had a game to remember, as he dropped 13 points to go along with his 21 rebounds and 8 assists. Fellow senior Nick Anderson also contributed to the cause with 6 points.

The Bobcats were stellar from the free throw line, converting 11-13 shots from the charity stripe.

After falling to the Mavericks in last year's AMCC semifinal matchup, the Bobcats got their revenge this season, earning victories in all three contests. 

Pitt-Greensburg will now travel to Buffalo, NY for their matchup against the Lions of Penn State Behrend. UPG finds themselves in familiar territory, having advanced to the AMCC semifinals for the second consecutive season. The AMCC semifinals and finals are taking place on the campus of regular season champion and #1 seed, Hilbert College. UPG and Behrend split the regular season series, as the Bobcats dropped their matchup in Erie on January 10^th, 79-87 before bouncing back for a 77-72 victory last Saturday on Senior Night.

The Bobcats are just two wins away from their first AMCC title since the 1999-2000 season and are looking to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time under sixth-year Head Coach Sean Strickland. The next leg of the journey this Saturday (Feb 27th) is set for a 3:30pm tip-off.


GAME NOTES: 
-Thomas' 21 rebounds were just 1 shy of the school record 22 set by former Bobcat David Palmer in 2012.  This is the second time this season in which Thomas grabbed 21 rebounds against Medaille.
-Figueroa led the Bobcats with 22 points in tonight's opening round playoff win.  One year ago to the day, Jerell dropped 35 points to lead the Bobcats to a first round playoff victory over D'Youville College, 88-72.