Box Score
The Mountain Cats battled back from a 13-point first half deficit to force overtime, but the University of the Sciences built a seven-point lead in the extra period and held off the Mountain Cats, 83-77, in Sunday's final round of the IUP Classic.  Ian Vescovi had a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead five Pitt-Johnstown players who scored in double figures.  The Mountain Cats slipped to 3-2 on the year.
 
After Dale Clancy put the Mountain Cats up two early, The Sciences used a 17-6 run to take a 20-11 advantage at 12:29 of the first half on two Wes Kerr free-throws.
 
Pitt-Johnstown came right back.  Jake Laravie scored five quick points, before a basket in the paint from Vescovi and a free-throw from Ajan Smith got the Mountain Cats to within two at 23-21 five minutes later.
 
Pitt-Johnstown and The Sciences then exchanged 11-0 runs.  The Devils scored the next 11 points, capped by two of Garret Kerr's 13 first half points, to build their largest lead of the half at 34-21.
 
However, eight straight points from Rich Audu and a 3-pointer from Levi Masua again cut the Mountain Cat deficit to two with 43 seconds left, before The Sciences got a late bucket from Sho Da-Silva to give the Devils a 36-32 halftime advantage.
 
Flo Da Silva's basket 4:28 into the second half rebuild the Devils' lead to seven, but a 3-pointer from Audu and two straight buckets from Vescovi erased the earlier 13-point deficit and got the Mountain Cats even at 45 with 12 minutes to play.
 
Matt Palo's lay-up at 5:22 gave Pitt-Johnstown its first lead since the 18:30 mark of the first half, and Clancy's basket extended it to 61-57.
 
 The Sciences clawed back and had a chance to win it in regulation, but Kerr's jumper with five seconds remaining would not fall, and the teams went into overtime, tied at 68.
 
The Sciences opened-up a 77-70 lead 1:30 into the overtime.  Pitt-Johnstown cut it to 79-76 on Laravie's 3-pointer, but the Devils connected on four straight free-throws in the final 43 seconds to seal the win.
 
Along with Vescovi, Laravie had 14 points and Audu added 13 points on 5-5 shooting to lead a balanced Pitt-Johnstown attack.  Leahey finished with 11 points and seven rebounds, and Palo added 10 points and five rebounds in the loss.  Clancy also had nine points for Pitt-Johnstown.
 
The Mountain Cats shot 45.8% (27-59) from the field, including 10-24 from 3-point range, while The Sciences ended the day shooting 45.6% (31-68) and 3-10 from behind the 3-point line.  Pitt-Johnstown hit 13-18 from the free-throw line, and the Devils connected on 18 of their 20 attempts from the charity stripe.
 
Kerr finished with game-highs of 33 points and 12 rebounds, and Dylan Kerwin chipped-in 13 points for The Sciences, which improved to 5-2.
           
The Mountain Cats travel to a PSAC game at California University (PA) on Wednesday, then return home to host a conference doubleheader with the Lady Cats against Seton Hill University on Saturday in the Sports Center.  The Lady Cats will tip-off at 1 p.m. followed by the men's game at 3 p.m.