The Pitt-Johnstown men's basketball team kept pace with the top teams in the PSAC West Division standings Saturday afternoon.

Guards Fred Mulbah and Ryan Smith sank six free throws in the final 34 seconds as the Mountain Cats withstood a late rally by Clarion University and held on for a 78-72 win at the Sports Center.

Pitt-Johnstown, 10-3 overall and riding a three-game winning streak, is tied for second place at 6-1 in the PSAC West with Slippery Rock, which it defeated on Jan. 5. Both teams trail IUP (7-1) by a half-game in the standings. The Mountain Cats and Crimson Hawks will square off for the first time later this month.

Mulbah led Pitt-Johnstown with 21 points, hitting 7 of 12 shots, including a 3-pointer, and 6 of 7 free throws. Forward John Paul Kromka had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, as did Smith, who had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Guard Joe Batt also netted 18 points.

Guard Connor Ferrell led the Golden Eagles (6-6, 2-5 PSAC) with a game-high 30 points, hitting six 3-pointers. Guard Gerald Jarmon added 16 points.  

Kromka also pitched in with seven assists and four blocks before fouling out with 6:38 to play and Pitt-Johnstown leading 60-51. Clarion pulled to within four points, 72-68, on Ferrell's 3-pointer with 55 seconds left, but could get no closer. 

Pitt-Johnstown, coached by Bob Rukavina, shot 46.7% (28 of 60) from the field and 45.5% (5 of 11) from 3-point range. Clarion hit on 41.2% (28 of 68) of its shots and 35.7% (13 of 36) from behind the arc. 

The Mountain Cats, ranked sixth in the D2SIDA Atlantic Region, were playing their first game in 10 days and just their third since Dec. 19 due to the holiday break and three postponements resulting from COVID issues.

Pitt-Johnstown led 36-23 at halftime as Mulbah and Kromka led the way with 10 points each, and Batt added nine. Kromka made 4 of 5 field goal attempts, including a 3-pointer, collected six rebounds, dished out five assists and added three blocks in the opening 20 minutes.

The Mountain Cats will battle Edinboro University at 3 p.m. Monday in a PSAC West matchup at the Sports Center. The women play at 1 p.m. in the makeup doubleheader originally scheduled for Jan. 10.