Published: December 04, 2008 11:55 pm      

Tullis powers UPJ to road win

VIENNA, W.Va. — Marcus Tullis scored 19 points to lead five Mountain Cats in double figures and move into 13th place on Pitt-Johnstown’s all-time scoring list in a 99-70 victory at West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foe Ohio Valley (W.Va.) University on Thursday.

The 15th-ranked Mountain Cats are now 6-1 overall and 2-0 in league play.

UPJ opened up a 30-16 advantage with 7:35 to play in the first half on Danny Branch’s 3-pointer, before taking a commanding 51-36 halftime lead. The Mountain Cats increased the lead to 72-47 on Tullis’ layup and free throw with 13:59 to play.

UPJ never let Ohio Valley get any closer than 19 points the rest of the way.

Tullis, a Greater Johnstown graduate, tallied 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds while Branch had 17 points, and was 5-of-11 from 3-point range. Branch also had eight rebounds and Quinton Davis registered 17 points, seven rebound and six assists.

Conemaugh Township graduate Andy Byer had 16 points and freshman Patrick Grubbs had 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Former Trojan standout William Sharpe chipped in eight points, six rebounds and a game-high seven assists in the victory.

Tullis, who entered the game tied with Chuck Bradford (1976-80) on the all-time scoring list, took over sole possession of 13th place. Tullis’ 1,097 points are 13 shy of Conemaugh Township alum Paul Byer (2002-05) for 12th place.

With his 17 points, Davis moved to within 17 points of becoming the 20th Mountain Cat to reach the 1,000-point plateau.

The Mountain Cats shot 56.3 percent from the field, a little better than 44 percent from 3-point range and went 11-for-15 from the free-throw line.

The Mountain Cats out rebounded the Fighting Scots 52-41.

Lance Jones and Micah Mills led Ohio Valley with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Rodney Everage scored eight points and pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds for the Fighting Scots, who dropped to 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the WVIAC.