Ryan Smith scored 22 points to pace three Pitt-Johnstown double figure scorers, but Mercyhurst, ranked 19^th in the D2SIDA National Poll and 20^th in the NABC Coaches Poll, earned an 85-69 conference victory over the Mountain Cats in a battle of two of the top team in the PSAC West, Wednesday night in Erie.  Pitt-Johnstown, which entered the night winning seven of its last eight games, slipped to 18-7 overall and 14-5 in conference-play.
 
Smith finished with a team-high 22 points, including 8-9 from the line.  John Paul Kromka had 18 points and five rebounds, and Andrew Shull chipped-in 16 points and five boards for the Mountain Cats.  Jared Jakubick had nine points and five rebounds.
 
Five straight points to start from John Paul Kromka and an Andrew Shull 3-pointer gave the Mountain Cats a one-point lead, before Mercyhurst countered with 3-pointers from Jeff Planutis and Nicholas Lang in a 12-3 run to go on top 19-13 seven minutes into the game.
 
Smith's layup quickly got the Mountain Cats back to within five, but Mercyhurst extended it to nine at 32-23 on a MiyKah McIntosh 3-pointer at 8:43.
 
Pitt-Johnstown, which shot 63% in the first 20 minutes, answered right back and hit four straight shots, including a pair from Shull, in a 10-2 spurt of its own over the next four minutes to pull to within one at 34-33.
 
The Lakers held the lead went into halftime in front, 46-38.
 
After Shull's jumper on the Mountain Cats' first possession of the second half made it 46-40, Mercyhurst used nine consecutive points from Michael Bradley to close out a 14-4 run to give the Lakers a 60-44 lead with 13:13 to play.
 
A layup from Kromka and two free-throws from Smith midway through the half helped Pitt-Johnstown outscore Mercyhurst, 10-4, and get the deficit down to 10, but the Mountain Cats just weren't able to get any closer.
 
The Mountain Cats shot 46.0% (23-50) from the floor, 5-15 from 3-point range, and 18-20 from the line.  The Lakers finished at 50% (28-56).  After hitting eight 3-pointers in the first half, Pitt-Johnstown limited Mercyhurst to just two in the second half.  The Lakers were also 19-22 from the charity stripe.
 
Mercyhurst, now 19-4 overall and 15-4 in the PSAC West, was led by Bradley's game-high 27 points, while McIntosh had 21 points, and Planutis had 13 points and eight rebounds.
 
The Mountain Cats will celebrate Senior Day with a PSAC doubleheader with the women's team against Edinboro, Saturday afternoon in the Sports Center, before hosting a conference doubleheader against California (PA) in Wednesday's 2022-23 regular season home finale.