Josh Wise poured in a career-high 27 points to lead five Mountain Cat double figure scorers, but East Stroudsburg battled back from a seven-point second half deficit to secure a 99-88 PSAC Crossover victory over Pitt-Johnstown, Sunday afternoon in the Sports Center.  Pitt-Johnstown is now 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the PSAC Western Division.
 
Pitt-Johnstown jumped out to a 10-point lead nine minutes into the game on Wise's 3-pointer and a Marcin Wiszomirski jumper, but East Stroudsburg answered with a 23-4 run over the next seven minutes to take a 33-24 lead.  Ralik Wise's basket in the paint gave the lead back to the Warriors at 7:49, before Jose Williams' jumper with 4:25 left in the half capped the run to increase the lead to nine.
 
It was the Mountain Cats' turn to make a run.  Pitt-Johnstown closed out the half by outscoring the Warriors 17-5.  Josh Wise's lay-up and a free-throw from Isaac Vescovi gave the lead back to Pitt-Johnstown, and Dale Clancy connected on a jumper with four seconds remaining that put the Mountain Cats up 41-38 at the half.
 
Pitt-Johnstown pushed the lead to five on Isaac Vescovi's jumper, then to seven 51-44 on a pair of Josh Wise free-throws four minutes into the second half.
 
However, East Stroudsburg regained control and outscored the Mountain Cats by 18 over the final 16 minutes.  The Warriors used a quick 8-0 spurt to retake the lead.  After Vescovi's layup at 13:02 got Pitt-Johnstown back in front, East Stroudsburg got a jumper from Ryan Krawczeniuk on its next possession and never trailed again.
 
Steve Harris' bucket at 7:30 pushed the lead into double digits, and Kitt Najee Wells hit a 3-pointer with 4:59 to play that gave the Warriors their largest lead of the day at 85-71.  East Stroudsburg went on to make eight straight free-throws in the final 44 seconds and went on to the 11-point win.
 
Wise finished with a game-high 27 points and seven rebounds on 9-12 shooting from the field, 3-5 from 3-point range, and 6-6 from the free-throw line to pace Pitt-Johnstown.  Vescovi had 19 points and five rebounds, and Levi Masua tallied 18 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists.  Clancy had 10 points and six assists, and Drew Magestro chipped-in 10 points for the Mountain Cats.
 
Pitt-Johnstown shot an impressive 60% (33-55) from the floor, but could not overcome 24 turnovers and just 3-16 shooting from behind the 3-point line.  The Mountain Cats were also 19-22 from the free-throw line.  East Stroudsburg shot 53.7% (36-67) from the floor, 9-23 from 3-point range, and 18-23 from the charity stripe.
 
Harris had 21 points and six rebounds, while Kobi Nwandu and Ralik Wise each had 15 points to lead six double-digit scorers for East Stroudsburg, which improved to 2-0 overall and 2-0 in the PSAC Eastern Division.
 
Pitt-Johnstown travels to Nyack (NY) for a non-conference game on Tuesday, before hosting a non-conference game against the University of the Sciences on Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Sports Center.