John Paul Kromka poured in a game-high 25 points and grabbed six rebounds to lift Pitt-Johnstown to a 72-65 victory over the University of Charleston (WV), a team recieving votes in the division II NABC National Poll, in the final game of the Mountain Cat Tip-Off Classic in the Sports Center on Saturday afternoon.

In addition to his efforts offensively, the Mountain Cats' senior forward also displayed why he is the three-time defending PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Year after producing a game-high five blocks and two steals against the Golden Eagles.

Joe Batt dished out a game-high eight assists to pair with 15 points and five boards for Pitt-Johnstown (2-0), and Andrew Shull added 11 points and five rebounds.

Both Batt and Shull knocked down 3 of their 5 3-point attempts to help the Mountain Cats shoot an efficient 8 of 17 (47.1%) from deep.

Pitt-Johnstown shot 14 of 28 from the field in the first half to take a narrow 37-33 lead into the break. But the Mountain Cats opened the second half on a 9-0 run that was capped by a Batt 3-pointer to put them up by 13, 46-33, at the 16:31 mark.

Later in the half, Andy Zuchelli, who chipped in seven points, scored on a layup with just over four minutes to play to give Pitt-Johnstown its largest lead of 16 to all but seal it.

Pitt-Johnstown committed only six turnovers compared to Charleston's 11.

CJ Meredith scored a team-high 18 points and snatched five rebounds for the Golden Eagles (0-2). Tyler Eberhart provided 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Pitt-Johnstown will visit 8th-ranked West Liberty (WV) next Wednesday at 7 p.m.