Box Score  
Following three ties and a pair of lead changes in the final three minutes, Hoying's foul-line jumper with 1.9 seconds on the clock broke a 78 all tie and led Mercyhurst to the two-point victory.
 
After Mercyhurst took a 4-2 lead, two of Cressler's 15 first half points tied it on the Mountain Cats next possession, and Ian Vescovi's lay-up gave the lead back to Pitt-Johnstown four minutes in.
 
Pitt-Johnstown, which shot 57% in the first half, took control and built its lead to as many as a dozen before halftime.
 
Adam Shaheen's dunk midway through the half made it a 10-point advantage, before Jake Laravie's driving lay-up at the seven-minute mark increased the Mountain Cats' lead to 35-23.
 
The Lakers got it down to as many as eight on five occasions, with the last coming on Hoying's lay-up and free-throw with 39 seconds left that cut it to 46-38 at the half.
 
Jonathan Ouegnin's lay-up early in the second half got the Lakers to within three, but two Cressler 3-pointers and one from Bill Luther quickly pushed it back out to 11 at 58-47 with just under 16 minutes to play.
 
Mercyhurst stormed back with a 21-5 run over the next seven minutes to retake the lead, 68-63 on consecutive buckets from Ouegnin.
 
The Mountain Cats answered and went back in front 72-71 on Shaneen's jumper in the paint at 5:12.
 
It stayed close the rest of the way, until Hoying's late bucket sealed the Mercyhurst victory.
 
Cresssler's game-high 23 points, and Shaheen's 15 points and three rebounds off the bench paced the Mountain Cats.  Nate Snodgrass netted eight points, and Luther and Paul Weatherly each had seven points in the loss.
 
Luther is currently 19^th on the Mountain Cat All-Time Scoring List with 1,096 points and third on the career-3-Point Field Goals List with 233.
 
After shooting 57% in the first half, Pitt-Johnstown wrapped-up the day shooting 54.9 (28-51) from the floor, 8-15 from behind the 3-point line, and 14-19 from the free-throw line.  Mercyhurst shot an even 50% (32-64) from the field, 5-17 from behind the 3-point line, and 11-15 from the charity stripe.
 
Hoying's 17 points and Anthony Lytle's 12 points and 12 rebounds led four Lakers who scored in double figures.
 
With the victory, Mercyhurst made it three wins in the last four games and improved to 10-8 overall and 6-2 in the PSAC West.
 
The Mountain Cats host a conference doubleheader with the Lady Cats against IUP on Wednesday starting at 5:30 p.m. in the Sports Center, before traveling to Edinboro University for another conference game on February 1.