Pitt-Johnstown used a team-high 21 points from John Paul Kromka to erased a 10-point deficit and take a five-point second half lead, but Indiana (PA), ranked No. 1 in the NABC Coaches Poll and No. 2 in the D2SIDA Poll, was able to hold off the Mountain Cats for a 70-60 PSAC victory, Wednesday night in Indiana.  Pitt-Johnstown is now 17-6 overall and 13-4 in the PSAC.
 
Joe Batt scored 10 points and had five rebounds, while Ryan Smith also scored 10 points for the Mountain Cats.  Andrew Shull scored nine points and grabbed five boards, and Jared Jakubick added six points and a team-high five assists
 
IUP used a 12-2 run to break a 6-all tie and go up 18-8 on a Dave Morris 3-pointer nine minutes into the opening half.
 
Pitt-Johnstown responded with a jumper from Shull and Kromka's layup to quickly cut the 10-point deficit to five less than four minutes later.
 
After the Crimson Hawks rebuilt the lead to 25-16, Smith connected on a pair of 3-pointers, with the second coming with :06 left in the half, to get the Mountain Cats back to within three at 25-22.
 
The Mountain Cats kept battling and tied it 30 on Shull's 3-pointer, then regained the lead by two when Shull scored again on Pitt-Johnstown's next possession.
 
Pitt-Johnstown shot 80% over the first nine minutes of the half and got the lead out to 43-38 on Smith's layup, before Morris hit a pair of 3-pointers in an 11-0 IUP spurt that gave the lead back to the Crimson Hawks at 49-43 with 8:39 to play.
 
The Mountain Cats answered right back with a bucket, but IUP continued to stay hot from the field and slowly pushed its advantage into double figures on its way to the victory.
 
The Mountain Cats shot 46% (24-52) while holding IUP to 44% (29-660, including just 6-20 from 3-point range.  Pitt-Johnstown was 6-9 from the line and the Crimson Hawks were 6-10.
 
Tomiwa Sulaiman's game-highs of 24 points and 11 rebounds led the way for IUP, now 23-1 overall and 17-1 in the PSAC.  The Crimson Hawks also got 19 points from Ethan Porterfield and 16 points from Morris.
 
The Mountain Cats will host a PSAC doubleheader with the women's team, Saturday afternoon in the Sports Center, before traveling to nationally-ranked Mercyhurst for a conference game on Wednesday.