Box Score
The Mountain Cats used a 27-7 run over a 10-minute span to end the first half and begin the second half that erased a nine-point deficit and led Pitt-Johnstown to a 75-54 victory over the University of the Sciences in Friday's opening round of the IUP/IRMC/Hilton Garden Inn Classic.  A.J. Leahey had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Mountain Cats, who improved to 4-2 on the year.
 
Brendan Crawford and Jon McGill combined for eight early points to help The Sciences race out to a 10-0 lead.
 
Pitt-Johnstown got right back in it with 10 straight points of their own.  Dale Clancy hit a pair of 3-pointers, and Rasaun Mosley and Isaac Vescovi followed with buckets to tie it at the 14:35 mark.
 
The Devils got a 3-pointer from J.J. Melchior and a conventional 3-point play from Will Gregorits at 7:19 to rebuild the lead to nine at 26-17.
 
The Mountain Cats answered again.  This time, Pitt-Johnstown outscored The Sciences 20-7 the rest of the way to take a four-point halftime lead.
 
Two straight baskets from Josh Wise sparked a 14-5 spurt that tied it at 31.  Leahey hit a 3-pointer that narrowed it to four, before baskets from Levi Masua and Wise knotted with 3:26 left.
 
Pitt-Johnstown wasn't done yet.  Two Isaac Vescovi free-throws with 33 second remaining gave the Mountain Cats their first lead at 34-33, before Jake Laravie's 3-pointer at the buzzer to make it 37-33 at the half.
 
Seven straight points over the first three minutes of the second half extended the run to 27-7 on pushed the lead into double digits at 44-33 on Clancy's jumper.
 
Tanner Kerr's lay-up at 16:30 snapped the run, four more points from Leahey increased it to 13, and the Mountain Cats never let the Devils closer than 10 the rest of the way.
 
Pitt-Johnstown extended it to 21 on Olando King Jr.'s 3-pointer with 6:32 to play and went on the win by that same amount.
 
Leahey's 16 points and nine rebounds led four Mountain Cats who scored in double figures.  Clancy had 13 points, three rebounds, and three assists, while Levi Masua tallied 10 points and six rebounds, and Wise scored 10 points.  Pitt-Johnstown also got seven points from King, Jr., six points from Vescovi, and five points each from Laravie and Mosley.
 
Leahey currently stands in 19^th-place on the Mountain Cat All-Time Scoring List with 1,138 points and in fifth-place on the all-time 3-point field goals list with 183.
 
Pitt-Johnstown shot 56.6% (30-53) from the field, while holding The Sciences to just 38.5% (20-52) shooting.  The Mountain Cats were 7-18 from 3-point range and 8-16 from the free-throw line.  The Devils hit 5-13 from behind the 3-point line and 9-10 from the charity stripe.
 
Gregorits had 16 points and six rebounds, and McGill chipped-in 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Devils, who fell to 1-5.