The Pitt-Johnstown men's basketball team ran its winning streak to four in a row Monday afternoon by cruising to an 86-64 win over Edinboro University in a matchup of PSAC West teams at the Sports Center.
The Mountain Cats (11-3 overall, 7-1 PSAC) are tied for first place with IUP in the West Division standings after the Crimson Hawks had their game against third-place Slippery Rock, 6-1 in league play, called off Monday night because of weather.
Edinboro (5-7, 3-4 PSAC) suffered its third consecutive loss.
Forward John Paul Kromka, the team's leading scorer and rebounder, posted his seventh double-double of the season with 23 points and 12 rebounds. He hit 11 of 16 shots in 35 minutes while collecting five steals and three blocks.
Three other players also reached double figures for the Mountain Cats, with guards Fred Mulbah contributing 22 points and six assists, and Joe Batt 10 points and six rebounds. Another guard, Jared Jakubick, netted 13 points and nine rebounds.Â
Guard Deontae Robertson topped Edinboro with 18 points, while guard Cyrie Coates added 16 and forward Terrence Moore 11.
Pitt-Johnstown shot 54.2% (32 of 59) from the floor and 30.8 percent (4 of 13) from 3-point range. Edinboro shot 39.4% (26 of 66) overall and 28.6% (6 of 21) from behind the arc.
The hosts led by as many as 24 points in the second half and Edinboro could get no closer than 11.
The Mountain Cats raced to a 29-10 lead 12 minutes into the opening half, but the Fighting Scots reeled off a 18-5 run to cut the deficit to 34-28 with 3:40 to play.Â
The Mountain Cats finished with a 10-2 run to grab a 44-30 advantage at halftime.
Kromka had 15 points and six rebounds in the first half while hitting 7 of 9 shots. Mulbah added eight points and three assists, while Jakubick had eight points and six rebounds for Pitt-Johnstown, which shot 56.7%, connecting on 17 of 30 first-half attempts.
Robertson led the Fighting Scots with 14 points in the opening 20 minutes, sinking 5 of 8 shots.
Pitt-Johnstown returns to PSAC play Wednesday with a crossover game at 7:30 p.m. at Mansfield University. The women play the first game of the doubleheader at 5:30 p.m.
