Box Score
A.J. Leahey recorded a career-high 32 points along with 11 rebounds, but it was not enough for his team to pull off the victory as Pitt-Johnstown could not hold on to a late-second half or an eight-point overtime lead and were defeated, 80-79 in overtime by Gannon University Saturday afternoon in PSAC West Division action.
 
Dale Clancy also added 16 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Mountain Cats, who fell to 14-8 overall and 10-7 in conference play with the loss.
 
With his five three-pointers against the Golden Knights, A.J. Leahey remains in 10th-place on the Mountain Cat All-Time Three-Point Field Goals List with 146.  Leahey is four three-pointers shy of tying Paul Byer (2002-2005) for ninth place on the list.
 
After trailing 2-0 at the start of the game, Pitt-Johnstown ran out to an 8-0 run to hold a six-point lead by the 16:37 first quarter mark after a three-pointer from Clancy, which followed a jumper from Rashaun Mosley and a three-pointer from Leahey.
 
By the 11:26 mark, the Mountain Cats constructed a 10-point lead after another three-pointer from Leahey to give UPJ a 16-6 advantage. Gannon followed up with a layup from Isaiah Eisendorf and a jumper from Tony Boykins to cut Pitt-Johnstown's to 16-10 with 8:32 to go in the half.
 
Jake Laravie then answered by scoring five straight points, a pair of free throws and three-pointer, to put the Mountain Cats ahead by 11 points, 21-10, a minute after Boykins jump shot.
 
Gannon was able to outscore Pitt-Johnstown, 9-3 in the next three and a half minutes as a shot from behind the arc from Max Kerr helped the Golden Knights cut the Mountain Cat lead to five points, 24-19 with 4:51 remaining until halftime.
 
Clancy was retaliate with a jumper of his own with just over four minutes remaining as Pitt-Johnstown pulled ahead, 26-19. Gannon finished the half with the momentum as they scored the last seven points in the half, including a buzzer-beating jumper at the end of the half from Ian Gardener to put the Golden Knights within a point of the lead, 30-29 heading into the second half after being down 30-22 with 2:09 left.
 
Boykins started the half a jumper 49 seconds into the period to give Gannon its first lead of the game since C.J. Asuncion-Byrd hit two free throws to start the game, 31-30. The Mountain Cats were able to regain control by going on a six-point run, highlighted by a dunk from Mosley and four points from Isaac Vescovi, to give themselves a 36-31 lead just before the 17-minute mark in the game.
 
The UPJ run was soon cancelled out, however, by a six-point run from Gannon after three straight layups from three different Golden Knights to reclaim the lead, 37-36 with 16:03 left to play.
 
The lead changed three more times until the 12:46 mark when Olando King Jr. hit one of two free throw shots to put Pitt-Johnstown ahead, 42-41 after trailing, 41-38 two minutes earlier. For the next seven minutes, the Mountain Cats either had the lead, which was never greater than three points during the span, or were tied with the Golden Knights.
 
Gannon was able to tie the game five time during this span as well, before retaking the lead when Jean Yves Toupane hit a jumper to give Gannon a 57-56 advantage with 5:44 remaining in the game. Clancy captured the lead right back from the Golden Knights 21 seconds later with a pair of free throws.
 
Lead changes remained frequent throughout the rest of regulation as the point differential did not grow larger than three points the rest of the half. After a free throw from Vescovi put Pitt-Johnstown ahead, 66-65 with 1:03 left to play, he then committed a foul on Asuncion-Byrd with 20 seconds left, allowing him to make one of two free throws to tie the game at 66 points.
 
Clancy was able to attempt a last second shot from beyond the arc, but missed the target to send the game into overtime. Leahey took over in the opening minutes of overtime, scoring the first eight points in the period, which got Pitt-Johnstown to an 8-2 run and a 74-68 with just over three minutes remaining, but Gannon did not give up.
 
The Golden Knights answered with an 8-2 run of their own in the next two minutes to tie the game at 76 points after a three-pointer by Kevin Kuteyi, which led to a timeout called by Pitt-Johnstown Head Coach Bob Rukavina with 1:22 left to play. Gannon quickly added to their run with another three-pointer from Kuteyi 26 seconds later to give them a 79-76 lead, which ended up being the deciding bucket of the game.
 
Nate Snodgrass was able to sink a three-pointer with 19 seconds left to put the Mountain Cats within a point of the lead, but could not follow up with another three-point shot 15 seconds later as time expired.
 
Gardener led the Golden Knights with 17 points and six rebounds as the team advanced to 6-15 overall and 6-13 in conference with the win.
 
The Mountain Cats are to host Edinboro University Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in a doubleheader with the Ladu Cats before traveling to Mercyhurst University next Saturday at 3 p.m. in another doubleheader with the women's team.