Box Score
Ian Vescovi scored 20 points and A.J. Leahey added 18 points, but Slippery Rock used a 15-0 second half run to build an 11-point lead on its way to defeating the Mountain Cats, 79-71, Saturday night in Slippery Rock.  Pitt-Johnstown slipped to 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the PSAC West.
 
Vescovi scored 14 points in the first nine minutes, including a short jumper that gave the Mountain Cats a 25-21 lead.
 
Slippery Rock scored the next five to retake the lead, but two free-throws from Dale Clancy with 5:36 left in the half put Pitt-Johnstown back in front, 35-32.
 
However, a 10-4 run to close out the half, capped by a bucket from Cornelius Brown, gave The Rock a 42-39 advantage at the halftime break.
 
Three-pointers from Leahey on Pitt-Johnstown's first two possessions on the second half erased the deficit and put the Mountain Cats up 45-42.
 
Another bucket from Leahey at 14:51 made it, 51-47, before Malcolm Richardson and Kelvin Goodwin combined for 12 points in a 15-0 Slippery Rock run over the next six minutes that gave the Rock a 62-51 lead with nine minutes to play.
 
Pitt-Johnstown bounced right back with a 14-4 run, closed out by a Clancy 3-pointer, to get the Mountain Cats to within one at 66-65 at the five-minute mark.
 
The Rock pushed it back out to a five-point lead 1:20 later, then made six consecutive free-throws in the final minute to secure the win.
 
Vescovi finished with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Leahey added 18 points, including four 3-pointers, and nine rebounds to pace Pitt-Johnstown.  Clancy hit three 3-pointers and ended with 13 points, and Matt Palo had eight points for the Mountain Cats.
 
Pitt-Johnstown made 7-14 from behind the three-point line, but shot just 42% (24-57) from the field for the night.  Slippery Rock, which held a 41-33 advantage on the glass, shot 45% (29-64) from the floor and 5-18 from the charity stripe.
 
Goodwin had a game-high 21 points, and Antonio Butler and Richardson each chipped in 17 points for The Rock, who improved to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the PSAC West.
 
The Mountain Cats travel to the 2014 IUP Classic next weekend and to a conference game at California University (PA) on December 3, before returning home to host a PSAC doubleheader with the Lady Cats against Seton Hill University on December 6 in the Sports Center.