Four players scored in double figures, led by junior forward John Paul Kromka's game-high 20 points, as the Pitt-Johnstown men's basketball team rallied from a first-half deficit to beat Virginia State University, 74-63, Sunday afternoon in a nonconference game at the Sports Center.

Kromka hit 7 of 8 shots from the floor and 6 of 10 from the free throw line to lead the Mountain Cats, who improved to 4-1. Kromka has 997 career points and needs just three more to become the 32nd player in school history to reach 1,000. 

Junior guard Joe Batt contributed 15 points and 11 rebounds for Pitt-Johnstown. Junior guard Fred Mulbah added 13 points and eight assists and redshirt junior guard Drew Magestro had 13 points and five rebounds.

Junior guard Francis Fitzgerald had 10 points for Virginia State, which dropped to 3-3 after suffering its third consecutive loss.

The Mountain Cats, riding a two-game winning streak, shot 49.1 percent (28 of 57) from the floor and 30.4 percent (7 of 23) from 3-point range. Virginia State made 44.8 percent (26 of 58) from the field and 26.9 percent (7 of 26) from behind the arc.

Pitt-Johnstown, playing for the first time in eight days, rallied from five points down in the first half to take a 37-35 lead at the intermission.

The Mountain Cats never trailed again, building their lead to as much as 13 points in the second half. Kromka's layup at the 9:24 mark gave the hosts their biggest lead at 60-47. Kromka scored 11 of his points in the second half, when the Mountain Cats outscored the Trojans 37-28.

In the opening half, Virginia State jumped to a quick 9-4 lead, but the Mountain Cats went on an 11-4 run and took their first lead at 15-13 on Kromka's layup at the 12:10 mark. Batt also scored five points during the run, including a 3-pointer, and Caiden Landis had four points on two layups.

The Trojans regained the lead a short time later at 20-17 on Ethan Wilson's 3-pointer. Virginia State stretched its advantage to 35-31 with 1:55 to play in the opening half, but Pitt-Johnstown scored the final six points to take a 37-35 lead at halftime. The run was keyed by Batt's 3-pointer, giving him 10 points in the first half, Kromka's jump shot, giving him nine points, and Ryan Smith's free throw.

Pitt-Johnstown and Virginia State were originally scheduled to meet at the IUP Thanksgiving Classic, but the game was moved to the Sports Center after Salem (W.Va.) University dropped out of the four-team tournament. Nationally-ranked IUP beat Virginia State 97-45 Saturday.

On Tuesday, the Mountain Cats will travel to Canton, Ohio for a nonconference game against Malone University.