Coming off of an impressive victory over fourth-ranked IUP that gave the Pitt-Johnstown men's basketball team sole possession of first-place in the PSAC Western Division, the Mountain Cats faced another stiff test when they traveled to No. 21 Mercyhurst on Wednesday.
 
Pitt-Johnstown, which entered the game on a seven-game winning streak, got 17 points and four assists from Fred Mulbah but was unable to overcome an early deficit and suffered a 90-61 loss to the Lakers.  The Mountain Cats, who are still guaranteed at least a tie for the top spot in the PSAC West after Wednesday's action, slipped to 14-4 overall and 10-2 in conference-play.
 
Along with Mulbah, Pitt-Johnstown got nine points and a team-high eight rebounds from John Paul Kromka, nine points apiece off the bench from Andy Zuchelli and Drew Magestro (3 3-pointers), and six points off the bench from Colin Cote.
 
The Mountain Cats, ranked in the top-10 nationally in field goal percentage, got off to a slow start and fell behind 23-9 on a Jeff Planutis dunk nine minutes into the game.
 
Pitt-Johnstown bounced back and used baskets from Jared Jakubick and Mulbah to ignite a 19-10 run over the next nine minutes.  Kromka's bucket in the paint, followed by a Magestro 3-pointer at the 2:17 mark, closed out the run and narrowed the gap to 33-28.
 
After Planutis connected on a 3-pointer with :35 to go, Mulbah answered with two of his nine first half points to get Pitt-Johnstown back to within eight at 38-30 at the break.
 
However, The Mountain Cats ran into a buzz saw to begin the second half.  The Lakers caught fire and hit five consecutive 3-pointers, including three from Mikyah McIntosh, to extend the lead to 69-35 with 11:37 to play.
 
Pitt-Johnstown outscored Mercyhurst by five the rest of the way.
 
Pitt-Johnstown shot 41.1% (23-56) from the floor and 8-20 from behind the arc, while the Lakers used 58% second half shooting to finish the game at 52.9% (36-68).  Mercyhurst was also 13-32 from 3-point range.
 
McIntosh scored 24 points, and Planutis added 14 points to lead five Lakers who scored in double figures to help Mercyhurst improve to 17-3 overall and 11-3 in the PSAC West.
 
The Mountain Cats return home to the Sports Center to host a PSAC West doubleheader with the women's team against Gannon on Saturday afternoon, before visiting California (PA) for a conference game on Feb. 2.