John Paul Kromka collected game highs of 17 points and 12 rebounds and Pitt-Johnstown pulled away for a 73-61 over Mercyhurst, Monday night in the Sports Center. The Mountain Cats moved to 13-5 overall and in a tie with the Lakers for second-place in the PSAC West standings at 9-3.
Kromka, who earned his fourth PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Week honor earlier in the day, shot 5-7 from the field and 7-7 from the line to pace four Pitt-Johnstown double figure scorers.
Andrew Shull knocked down three 3-points and finished with 16 points, while
Joe Batt had 14 points (7-7 FTs.) and nine boards, and
Jared Jakubick netted 14 points, including going 7-9 from the line.
Baskets from Kromka and Batt put Pitt-Johnstown on top, 15-8 midway through the first half. The Mountain Cats, who shot 52.4% in the first 20 minutes, pushed the lead out to 10 on a
Drew Magestro 3-pointer at the 2:18 mark, before taking a 32-27 advantage into the halftime break.
Mercyhurst clawed back to go in front by two four minutes into the second half, but Pitt-Johnstown quickly regained the lead on a Kromka free-throw and the Mountain Cats never trailed again.
Two free-throws from Shull and back-to-back 3-pointers from Jakubick and Batt extended the lead back into double figures at 51-41 with 11:29 to play.
Shull then connected on a 3-pointer at 10:24 that gave Pitt-Johnstown its largest lead of the night at the 9:32 mark, before Batt and Shull combined to hit seven straight free-throws down the stretch that closed it out.
Pitt-Johnstown shot 48.8% from the field and 6-13 from behind the arc. The Mountain Cats also got it done at the line, hitting 27 of its 33 free-throws. Mercyhurst was held to 36.4% shooting, including just 6-29 from 3-point range. The Lakers were 7-7 from the line.
Jeff Planutis had 12 points, and MiyKah McIntosh had 10 points for Mercyhurst, now 13-3 overall and 9-3 in the PSAC West.
Pitt-Johnstown travels to PSAC West games at Edinboro on Wednesday and California (PA) on Saturday The Mountain Cats will return home for Winterfest Weekend to host a conference doubleheader with the women's team against Clarion on Saturday, Feb. 4 in the Sports Center.
