Senior guard Peyton Alazaus scored 13 points, Cassidy Crawford added 12 points, six rebounds and three assists after playing all 40 minutes and Pitt-Johnstown outlasted Malone (OH) 56-50 in its home-opener on Wednesday night inside the Sports Center.

The Mountain Cats trailed 33-29 after two periods and were outrebounded 49-31, but limited the Pioneers to just 17 second-half points to improve to 3-0. Pitt-Johnstown also exacted revenge for an early-season loss last year at Malone.

Olivia Fasick recorded 11 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals after playing the second most minutes of any player in the lineup. Kylah Franklin chipped in six points, three rebounds and two assists.

Both teams struggled to find any rhythm in a low-scoring fourth quarter that contained just 16 points. Pitt-Johnstown's defense was near-perfect throughout the final 10 minutes, forcing five turnovers and holding Malone to just a 2-for-18 mark from the field.

Fasick drilled two clutch threes down the stretch in the fourth, the first to extend the lead to 51-46 with less than six minutes to play and the last to push the lead to eight at 54-46 with just 3:30 remaining. The Pioneers cut the deficit to six late, but a layup from Franklin with 1:26 left sealed the victory.

There was more consistency on offense in the third quarter, when the Mountain Cats shot 54.5% from the floor and posted 17 points. That charge was led by Crawford, who totaled 10 points, including five straight on a 3-pointer and a layup to put Pitt-Johnstown up 45-41 with 2:22 to go.

Malone's Kayla Curry-Brown hit a jumper in the waning seconds, but the Mountain Cats still carried a 46-44 advantage heading into the fourth.

A furious 13-0 rally that spanned more than four minutes between the end of the first and the early stages of the second gave Pitt-Johnstown a 26-22 lead. Malone responded with an 11-3 run over the final seven minutes, but it did little to deter the second-half turnaround. 

Erin Kaufman had a game-high 18 points for the Pioneers, who fell to 1-2 on the year.

Pitt-Johnstown travels to Saginaw Valley State (MI) on Monday for a 4 p.m. tip-off in the final game before Thanksgiving break.