Pitt-Johnstown cut a 14-point second half deficit to one with 12 seconds left, but was unable to complete it in a tough, 78-75, PSAC Western Division loss at Slippery Rock on Wednesday.  John Paul Kromka had 14 points and seven rebounds and Josh Wise had 14 points and six rebounds for the Mountain Cats, who slipped to 19-6 overall and 13-5 in conference-play.
 
Along with Kromka and Wise, Pitt-Johnstown got 11 points from Caiden Landis and 10 points off the bench from Marcin Wiszomirski.  Drew Magestro scored eight points, while Joe Batt had six points and five rebounds, and Fred Mulbah and Donovian Maxfield each scored six points.
 
Donovan Walker's free-throws gave Slippery Rock an early eight-point advantage, but Pitt-Johnstown got a basket from Kromka and two of Wiszomirski's eight first half points to narrow it to 18-15 with just under nine minutes to go in the first half.
 
The Rock pushed its lead out to a dozen at 36-24 on six straight points from Micah Till and Walker's bucket.
 
Pitt-Johnstown answered with an 11-2 run, sparked by 3-pointers from Maxfield and Wise, to make it a 3-point game again, before Slippery Rock took a 42-37 lead in the half.
 
A 15-6 spurt to begin the second half increased Slippery Rock's lead to 14.
 
The Mountain Cats countered with a 19-8 run of its own.  Josh Wise's layup and free-throw got things started, and Mulbah's dunk got Pitt-Johnstown back to within three at 65-63 with 8:29 remaining.
 
After Till's layup got the Rock's lead back out to seven at the 3-minute mark, Magestro hit a 3-pointer with :16 to go that got it back down to two and Kromka's free-throws made it 76-75 four seconds later.
 
However, Till's dunk on the Rock's next possession sealed the win when Wise's 3-pointer as time expired would not fall.
 
The Mountain Cats shot 45.8% (27-59) from the floor, 4-13 from 3-point range, and 17-21 from the line.  Slippery Rock ended the night shooting 46.3% (31-67), 6-24 from behind the arc, and 10-16 from the free-throw line.
 
Till's game-highs of 23 points and 10 rebounds paced Slippery Rock, which evened its record a 12-12 overall and moved them to 8-10 in the PSAC West.  Lashon Lindsey had 16 points and eight rebounds, and Walker tallied 11 points for the Rock.
 
Pitt-Johnstown is back in the Sports Center on Saturday to celebrate Senior Day with a PSAC doubleheader with the women's team against Clarion.  The women will tip-off at 1 p.m. with the men's game scheduled for 3 p.m.