Bloomsburg hit 11 3–pointers and used a first half run to build a double-digit lead and went on to end Pitt-Johnstown's winning streak at eight games with a 94-78 PSAC Crossover victory, Saturday afternoon in Bloomsburg.
John Paul Kromka scored 22 points and
Joe Batt added 21 points for the Mountain Cats, who slipped to 8-2 overall and 2-1 in the PSAC Western Division.
Baskets from
Caiden Landis and Kromka gave the Mountain Cats a six-point advantage three minutes into the game, but Bloomsburg answered with a 19-2 run over the next 5:30, including 15 straight points to start the run, to build a 23-10 lead of its own on Justin Anderson's 3-pointer.
Anderson's fourth 3-pointer of the opening half extended the Huskies' lead to 18 at the 5:48 mark, before Pitt-Johnstown got a pair of free-throws from Kromka and two of Batt's 10 first half points off the bench to narrow the gap to 47-33.
However, Bloomsburg, which shot 54% in the first half, scored the final five points, including Ethan Houston's 3-pointer, to take a 52-33 lead.
After another 3-pointer from Anderson early in the second half made it a 20-point Huskies' advantage, Kromka's conventional 3-point play closed an 8-0 Mountain Cat spurt to cut it to 59-47 at 14:38.
Pitt-Johnstown then made it a 10-point game at 75-65 with 7:29 to play on
Fred Mulbah's steal and dunk, but a 3-pointer by Sam Saxton and a lay-up from Travis Elmore on Bloomsburg's next two possessions got the lead back out to 15, and the Huskies went on to the 16-point victory.
Kromka's 22 points on 9-13 shooting, eight rebounds, and two blocks, and Batt's 21 points and five rebounds paced the Mountain Cats. Landis scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and Mulbah had six points and a game-high nine assists for Pitt-Johnstown.
The Mountain Cats shot 47.1% (32-68) from the field and 12-17 from the free-throw line, but just 2-13 from behind the arc. Bloomsburg finished the day shooting 51.6%, including 11-25 from 3-point range and 17-25 from the charity stripe.
Anderson tied Kromka with a game-high 22 points, while Maqi Watson had a double-double of 15 points and a game-high 1211 rebounds to lead the Huskies. Bloomsburg, which made it three straight wins and improved to 5-3 overall and 2-1 in the PSAC East, also got 13 points from Peyton Mortellite and 12 points and seven rebounds from Max Wagner.
The Mountain Cats close out the first semester with PSAC road games at Shippensburg on December 20 and at Lock Haven on December 21. Pitt-Johnstown will host its next home game on January 6 when Gannon visits the Sports Center for a PSAC doubleheader with the women's team.
