John Paul Kromka notched a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds as the Mountain Cats handily defeated Bloomsburg 77-59 to open up PSAC play on Friday at Nelson Field House.

Ryan Smith had 12 points, five rebounds and three steals for Pitt-Johnstown, which improved to 5-2. Jared Jakubick and Caiden Landis added 10 points apiece.

After a jumper by Bloomsburg made it 22-19 with 6:39 to play in the first half, the Mountain Cats responded with a 9-0 spurt over the next three and a half minutes to give them a 31-19 lead, their largest to that point.

A pair of free throws by Jakubick sent the Mountain Cats into the break with a 36-25 advantage.

Pitt-Johnstown kept the pressure on in the first two minutes of the second half with a quick 7-0 run that concluded with Landis knocking down a jumper to push the lead to 18.

The Huskies cut the deficit to eight with just over 14 minutes to play, but the Mountain Cats ripped off a 10-2 run over the next two and a half minutes  to once again build a double-digit lead that would never fade away.

The Mountain Cats shot better than 48% in each half and finished 30 of 62 (48.4%) from the field. Pitt-Johnstown attempted just 14 shots from 3-point range, largely due to the notable advantage it had around the basket. The Mountain Cats outscored the Huskies in the paint 46-18.

Pitt-Johnstown forced 20 turnovers and scored 22 points off those miscues. It also received 25 points from its bench.

The Mountain Cats, who never trailed, jumped out to a 7-0 lead to start. The game was tied just once at 11-all after Louie Wild hit a 3-pointer for Bloomsburg.

Desmond Freeman had a team-high 18 points for the winless Huskies (0-4).

The Mountain Cats continue PSAC crossover play with a visit to East Stroudsburg scheduled for Saturday at 7:30 p.m.