Published: November 16, 2008 12:09 am      

Tullis, UPJ start strong

If anything was to be taken away from Pitt-Johnstown’s season opener Saturday night, it’s that the more things change, the more they do, in fact, stay the same. 

By following their coach’s motto of “business as usual” heading into the game against Penn State-Greater Allegheny, the Mountain Cats put aside an array of distractions to beat the Lions, 103-44, at the Sports Center.

Much of the anticipation for the night surrounded senior forward and former Greater Johnstown standout Marcus Tullis. He stood 20 points away from becoming the 19th player in school history to eclipse the 1,000 point mark. 

Before he could hit the floor, however, Tullis with fellow seniors Trey Sharpe, Matt Ionadi and Quinton Davis hoisted the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season championship banner won during there inaugural year in the league. 

Tullis tallied 12 first-half points after a slow start, then hit the milestone at the 13:50 mark of the second half with a lay-in on an assist from Davis. 

Coach Bob Rukavina said there were no plans to extend Tullis’ playing time to get 1,000 even though his team now hits the road for two road tests against conference rival Seton Hill and 2007 NCAA regional finalist Cal.

“He deserved to get at home because he has worked as hard as anyone during his time here,” Rukavina said. “He’s unselfish, does whatever you ask of him and has really just been an asset to this program all around.” 

Stepping in for the graduated Chris Gilliam, true freshman Partick Grubbs turned in a double-double performance in his first collegiate game, scoring 13 points to go along with 13 rebounds. Grubbs scored six points early as the Mountain Cats fought back from an early 7-0 hole to tie the game with a Ionadi free throw and took the lead for good at 9-7 with a layup by Grubbs. 

Despite leading early, the Lions were held to just 13 points the remainder of the first half as UPJ clamped down on defense, turning 15 turnovers into easy transition buckets.

The Mountain Cats led 55-20 at the break, which allowed the starters to sit most of the second half and Rukavina to work his bench. 

Each of the 10 active players on the UPJ roster scored, led by double-digit outings from the seniors and sophomore Danny Branch.