Despite taking a lead into halftime, Pitt-Johnstown could not withstand an efficient second half performance from Mansfield and suffered a 68-57 setback on Saturday afternoon at Marion Decker Gymnasium.

After a difficult day offensively where they shot just over 38% from the field, the Mountain Cats fell to 2-5 (0-2 PSAC) on the season.

A day after racking up a team-high 17 points, Ryan Smith paced Pitt-Johnstown with a game-high 18 points and grabbed four rebounds. Andy Zuchelli played all 40 minutes for the second straight game and recorded 14 points, four rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Nick Watts chipped in 10 points and six rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench.

In what was a slow-moving opening half for both teams, the Mountain Cats jumped out to a 16-7 lead on Smith's pull-up jumper at the 11:20 mark. Over the next few minutes, they worked the lead to as large as 11 at 27-16 on Zuchelli's layup with less than six minutes before the break.

A trey by Zuchelli made it 30-20, but following a 7-0 run by Mansfield, Pitt-Johnstown carried a 30-27 advantage into the break.

The Mountain Cats held a lead in the second half for just 36 seconds before Idris Ali delivered a triple to spark a 13-0 rally that made it 40-30 and gave the Mountaineers control for good.

Pitt-Johnstown methodically worked its way back into the game by outscoring Mansfield 16-8 over the next six-plus minutes and clawed within two at 48-46 on a traditional three-point play from Zuchelli.

But all of that positive momentum was erased when Gabe Perez answered with a 3-pointer just 11 seconds later. The Mountain Cats never cut the deficit to less than five over the final 10 minutes.

Scott Woodring totaled a team-high 15 points and nine rebounds for the Mountaineers, who evened their record at 3-3.

The Mountain Cats have nearly two weeks off before hosting the University of Indianapolis on Dec. 15 with tip-off set for 6 p.m.