Senior forward John Paul Kromka racked up game-highs of 22 points, eight rebounds and three blocks as the Pitt-Johnstown men's basketball team overcame an 8-point deficit with under four minutes to play to come-from-behind and hang on for a 77-73 win over Slippery Rock in the first round of the PSAC Tournament on Monday night in the Sports Center.
The third-seeded Mountain Cats notched their third straight season with at least 20 wins and improved to 20-9 on the year. For the fourth consecutive year, they punched their ticket into the quarterfinals, where they will travel to take on a familiar foe in second-seeded Mercyhurst on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Andrew Shull collected 14 points, three rebounds and three assists for Pitt-Johnstown, which avenged a 71-70 setback to The Rock on Saturday in the regular season finale. Senior forward Caiden Landis sparked the offense in the first half with 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting in 14 minutes off the bench. Jared Jakubick provided 12 points, a game-high five assists and four boards.
After No. 6 seed Slippery Rock took a 66-58 lead on a layup, Shull netted seven of the game's next 10 points and bookended a 9-1 rally with a pair of free throws to tie the game at 67 apiece with just 1:51 to go.
Jakubick tied the game at 69 on a layup, and Shull knocked down all three free throws after he was fouled on a 3-point attempt to give the Mountain Cats a 72-69 lead that they would make stand up.
The Rock climbed within a point after two free throws with 33 seconds left, but Drew Magestro and Joe Batt combined to hit 5-of-6 from the charity stripe over the final 24 seconds to seal the victory.
In what was an evenly matched second half for the most part, Pitt-Johnstown shot 61% from the field and outrebounded Slippery Rock 12-10.
The Mountain Cats led by as many as eight in the first half when Landis scored on a layup to make it 18-10 at the 12:16 mark. Kromka, who also had three assists and two steals, capped the first half with a layup off an assist from Andy Zuchelli with 39 seconds to play to put Pitt-Johnstown in front 37-34 at the break.
Amante Britt and Lashon Lindsey each scored 15 points for Slippery Rock, which closed the book on a 17-12 season.
The Mountain Cats split with the Lakers in the regular season, with each team taking care of business on their home floor.
