Wheeling Jesuit University men's basketball team put on a shooting clinic at the Alma Grace McDonough Center en route to a 105-80 dismantling of the visiting University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.
"We beat a well coached team and our guys executed the game plan," said Head Coach Danny Sancomb. "It was a great all-around team effort. We had outstanding performances from our starters and our bench."
Wheeling Jesuit was on fire in the first half of Monday evening's showdown with the No.5 ranked WVIAC team. The red hot Cardinals shot 61.9 percent from beyond the arc with 13 first-half three pointers. Not only were the Cardinals red hot from deep, they shot a staggering 64.9 percent from the floor, building a 61-35 halftime lead without attempting a foul shot.
Wheeling Jesuit won the opening tip, and Recardo Gaddy hit the first of many in the first-half three pointers. Shots continued to fall as Jesuit pushed the spread to five at 12-7 on an Obi Ukwuoma dunk.
The Mountain Cats battled back, scoring on three-straight possessions to take their only lead of the game, 13-12, with 14:40 showing on the clock. Moments later, Steve Catich buried his second 3-point field goal as the Cardinals used a 7-1 run to take a 19-14 advantage. UPJ's Nick Novak ended the Cardinal run with a lay-in, but Ben Siefert answered with a mid-range jumper followed by a deep strike from Gaddy.
During the final 12-minutes of the first half, Jesuit drained ten shots from downtown while mixing in a dunk by Catich and two layups from Ukwuoma. During that stretch, the Cardinals outscored the Mountain Cats 37-19. Pete Brogdon and Gaddy each connected with three long-range shots while Joe Prati and Josh Valentic added a pair. The trio of Brogdon, Prati, and Valentic shot a combined 7-for-8 from downtown.
In the second half, Wheeling Jesuit continued their dominance. The Cardinals turned to the mid-range shots in the beginning of the half and led 72-48 by the first media timeout. Jesuit then went back to shots from behind the arc for the next three-out-of-four buckets, building a 91-65 lead with just under seven minutes to go.
At 3:01, Prati attempted his fifth long-range jumper and buried the shot to stay perfect from behind the arc (5-for-5) while being fouled. He drained the foul shot, completing the four-point play while sending the Cardinals to the century mark for the third time this season.
Jesuit finished the evening shooting 65 percent from the field and 62 percent behind the arc. Gaddy lead all Cardinal players with 19 points, while Steve Catich dropped 18. Ukwuoma and Moore each had 12, while Prati and Brogdon led off the bench with 16 and nine, respectively.
Moore completed a double-double with a team-high 11 rebounds as the Cardinals held a 37-29 advantage on the glass.
With the win, the Cardinals improved to 15-6 overall and 11-4 in the WVIAC. Pitt-Johnstown falls to 12-9 overall and 10-6 in the WVIAC.
The Cardinals will travel to Shepherd on Thursday, February 9 to take on the Rams at 7:30 p.m. The Cardinals will return to the Alma Grace McDonough Center on Monday, February 13 to play host to the West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats at 7:30 p.m.
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