Pitt-Greensburg hoops building to historic season

A smile crawled across Matt Johnson’s face as he talked about his basketball team and its inner workings.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” the junior point guard at Pitt-Greensburg said. “What we’re doing hasn’t happened by accident. It’s nice to see the whole team commit to the same thing and put in all the extra time. You usually only see that at a Division I program.”

Division III Pitt-Greensburg is having one of its best seasons. A flurry of success appears to be a reflection of offseason commitment and team bonding, elements that have merged evenly in a slow build to make the Bobcats a contender once again in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.

“The effort and the attitude was there last year … but we’d walk into gyms and get out of character,” said Johnson, who started his college career at Saint Vincent and transferred to Alderson Broaddus before landing at UPG. “We weren’t ourselves. To be successful, you have to teach people how to win. What it takes to win. Everyone bought in to what coach teaches and everyone wants to be part of it.”

UPG is 10-2 overall and 6-1 in the conference, a half-game behind La Roche for first place.

On Tuesday night, the team turned into UP3: It made a school-record 20 of 40 3-pointers in a blowout win over Penn College.

UPG is scoring 82.3 points and allowing 71.0.

A 6-1 start was the Bobcats’ best since 1997 when they joined the NCAA, but they have kept the momentum going, progressing toward the program record of 21 wins set in 1999.

“Our goal is 22,” Johnson said.

The Bobcats hadn’t reached double digits in wins since 2015-16 when they finished 19-10, won the AMCC and played in the NCAA Division III tournament. They won just 15 games across the last three years, including a 1-24 mark three years ago.

Brody Jackson took over the following year and the Akron, Ohio native and former Mount Union assistant is starting to see results.

“I don’t know if anyone expected this,” Jackson said. “We made a jump from my first year to the second, but that jump didn’t show up in wins. We were in every game last year but lost so many close games. I have seen these guys work in the summertime and that has a lot do with our development.”

Jackson said 10 players lived on campus over the summer.

Chicago natives and sophomore guards Torian Jenkins and Kendall Jordan moved into an apartment.

“They drove from Chicago to Greensburg,” Jackson said. “We have guys who want to be here.”

Penn-Trafford alum Cam Seigfreid, a junior guard, did not stay on campus, but he was around enough to fool you into thinking he did.

“Cam is a silent leader,” Jackson said. “Whether he’s in the weight room or shooting around, everyone else follows.”

As Fitness Center Coordinator, Jackson sees his players in the weight room on a frequent basis.

“They want to put in the time,” he said.

Johnson leads the team in scoring at 16.3 points, followed by Seigfreid (15.0), sophomore guard Jojo France (14.8), Jenkins (11.0) and 6-foot-7 senior forward Cody Spaid (9.8 and 7.8 rebounds).

Seigfreid leads UPG in assists (37) and steals (24), while France has a team-best 35 3-pointers.

“I don’t shoot as many threes as I did in high school,” Seigfreid said. “We’re more efficient on offense. We’re looking for the best shot and no one is selfish.”

Senior guard Brady Kingston is another 25-plus-minute guard for the Bobcats.

Jackson calls Spaid the team’s best passer. He also has received solid hustle minutes and defensive play from senior Isaiah Zeise, a North Allegheny grad.

Junior David Runco is a key reserve guard out of Laurel Highlands.

A nice blend of guards and “bigs” also includes 7-foot senior Nate Burt, who had nine blocks in a game in 2017.

Jackson appreciates Johnson’s leadership in the backcourt — and beyond. He believes Johnson, a native of Prince George’s County, Md., holds the unit in place.

“Matt had an unbelievable summer and has come a long way,” Jackson said. “You can’t have cliques because of him. We have a lot of different backgrounds and our team is very diverse. His maturity and confidence are through the roof.”

Team chemistry has helped in tight games. The Bobcats’ losses are to Washington & Jefferson (74-67) and La Roche (89-73). Last year, UPG had seven losses of five points or less, including two overtime defeats and one in double-overtime.

“We’re all family here,” Seigfreid said. “Year 3 is coming together.”

The Bobcats, who are 7-0 on their home court at Chambers Hall, have been impressive offensively, but Jackson said defense gets it all started.

“The thing that surprises me most is how they all have bought in defensively,” Jackson said. “I knew there would be some teams that couldn’t score on us if we played to our potential.”

UPG leads the AMCC in steals per game at 8.3.