Pitt-Greensburg will play its most meaningful game of the men’s college basketball season so far without its top scorer.
The Bobcats (20-4, 16-3) will host La Roche (17-6, 17-1) at 6 tonight in a showdown of the top two teams in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference standings. But they’ll do so without junior point guard Matt Johnson, who tore his ACL two games ago during the first half at Mt. Aloysius.
He is done for the season.
UPG won without Johnson Saturday at home against Alfred State, 79-62.
Johnson, who was averaging 16.5 points — one of five double-digit scorers for the Bobcats, who score 83 a game — will have surgery in a couple of weeks, coach Brody Jackson said.
“We have been dealing with adversity all year so we don’t really make a big deal out of it,” Jackson said. “We don’t complain or make excuses. There will be no asterisks by the next game we lose. However, we all know how hard Matt has worked to get to this point. When I told the kids the news, their faces dropped. Everyone just loves the kid.”
A native of Prince George’s County, Md. who made stops at Saint Vincent and Alderson Broaddus before arriving at UPG, Johnson unquestionably is the floor leader and is a favorite teammate in the locker room.
“Matt was not a true point guard when he got here,” Jackson said. “He has learned a ton and really grew over the year. We were on the same page and he even knew what I wanted to call in certain situations.”
Sophomore Torian Jenkins takes over at the point, a position he never has played. The Chicago native has been a do-it-all reserve for UPG, which had not won 20 games in a season since 1999-2000 and is 12-0 on its home floor at Chambers Hall.
Jenkins is averaging 11.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in 25.2 minutes a game.
“He was awesome (in the last game) against Alfred State,” Jackson said. “He just loves to learn and be coached. Great vision and is a pass-first type of guy. Matt is on the bench and at practice rooting for him and trying to help him out.”
Jenkins had 14 points off the bench against La Roche in the teams’ initial meeting on Dec. 21. La Roche won that game, 89-73.
Johnson went for 10 points and six rebounds in the loss, while junior Cam Seigfreid (Penn-Trafford) scored 14, sophomore Jojo France had 13 and senior Cody Spaid 11 for UPG.
La Roche junior Tyler Frederick (Butler) erupted for a season-high 34 points against the Bobcats.
Jackson said Johnson’s absence will not affect the team too much schematically. If nothing else, the Bobcats plan to use the setback as a motivating factor.
“Our guys are unselfish and that is our system,” the coach said. “We want to have guys and the ball moving as fast as possible.”
La Roche has won nine games in a row, while UPG is on a five-game winning streak.
HUGE games tonight for @UPGbasketball and @UPG_WBB! Pitt-Greensburg faces La Roche at 6/8 tonight! The games are also the @AMCCsports Games of the Week! pic.twitter.com/umvKw8Nore
— Pitt-Gbg Athletics (@upgbobcats) February 19, 2020
The AMCC men's basketball game of the week is tomorrow @ 6:00 ??
— AMCC Sports (@AMCCsports) February 18, 2020
La Roche (17-1) @LaRocheRedhawks takes on Pitt. -Greensburg (16-3) @upgbobcats #d3hoops ??https://t.co/6gaH7MIvH8 pic.twitter.com/M3JEwiHaRy
