Mike Mastovich | After 55 years, 'Hilltopper Classic' connects all-time leading scorer Gary Pagano to current Westmont Hilltop hoops team

Key Highlights

• A three-year varsity starter, he played in 76 games – scoring in double digits in all of those contests before his 1970 graduation. Pagano, whose 1,968 career points remain the most in Westmont Hilltop boys basketball history, will be recognized during Tuesday’s pregame ceremony. The alumni celebration will be held during the second night of the four-team Hilltopper Classic.“It’s just an awesome honor for them to be recognizing me 55 years later for something that I accomplished,” said Pagano, who retired a decade ago after 32 years at Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber.
• “We had an interesting and exciting team that played in front of many ‘hostile’ and interesting crowds over the years.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement‘Such a great player’Westmont Hilltop’s 1969-70 boys team went 24-2, as Pagano scored 705 points as a senior.
• The 6-foot-2 guard led The Tribune-Democrat’s Johnstown-Altoona district scoring race for a second straight season.“We try to share the history of Westmont basketball with our teams,” Hilltoppers coach Dave Roman Jr.
• said.
• “Every year when we update the scoring leaders, just to always see Gary’s name at the very top, we wonder if anyone will ever catch him.“I’m not sure it’s ever going to happen because he was such a great player and that is such a big number.