John Paul Kromka scored 15 points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds and
Joe Batt's 15 points led a balanced attacked that saw the Mountain Cats improve to 2-0 with an impressive, 77-49, victory over West Virginia Wesleyan in Saturday's Second Round of the IUP IRMC/Hilton Garden Inn Classic.
For the second straight night, the Mountain Cats got off to a great start. Kromka scored eight quick points, including a dunk to open the scoring, and
Caiden Landis scored in the paint to give Pitt-Johnstown an 18-4 lead just over five minutes into the game.
The Mountain Cats held a double-digit lead the rest of the half and held West Virginia Wesleyan to just 15 opening half points.
After Braeden McGrew's 3-pointer midway through the half got the Bobcats back to within 10 at 22-10, Pitt-Johnstown closed out the half on a 13-3 run.
Fred Mulbah's layup at 4:53 got the lead to 18, and Batt connected on a 3-pointer with :28 left to make it 35-15 at the break.
Three more points from Kromka and a basket from Mulbah extended the run to 18-3 to begin the second half and increase the lead 40-15.
West Virginia Wesleyan countered with a 14-5 run, capped by Tommie Pope's bucket, to narrow it to 49-29 at the 15:24 mark, but Pitt-Johnstown pulled away.
Ryan Smith's 3-pointer with 5:01 to play pushed the lead to 27,
Andy Zuchelli knocked down a 3-pointer and a
Grant Timmerson layup with :22 gave the Mountain Cats their largest lead at 30.
Kromka added five assists and three blocks to go along with his 15 points and 14 rebounds, while Smith posted career-highs of 14 points and five rebounds,
and Landis chipped-in 11 points for the Mountain Cats. Mulbah finished with seven points, four rebounds, and three assists.
Pitt-Johnstown dominated in nearly every statistical category, including out-rebounding the Bobcats, 50-23. The Mountain Cats shot 47.5% (28-59) from the floor, while holding West Virginia Wesleyan to just 32.2% (20-62) shooting, including 7-28 from 3-point range and 2-10 from the charity stripe. Pitt-Johnstown was 6-21 from behind the arc and a solid 15-19 from the free-throw line.
Jayden Hibbitts' game-high 16 points and McGrew's 10 points led the Bobcats, who fell to 0-2 to start the year.
The Mountain Cats will make their 2021-22 home debut on Wednesday against 14th-ranked West Liberty (WV) as part of a non-conference doubleheader in the Sports Center with the women's team. The women will take on West Virginia State at 5:30, with the men's game to follow at 7:30.
