Nick Watts set a new career-high with 21 points in 28 minutes off the bench and Pitt-Johnstown was sharp on both ends from the onset to handily beat Shippensburg 94-77 in a PSAC crossover matchup at the Sports Center on Wednesday night.

The Mountain Cats never trailed on their way to winning consecutive games for the second time this season and improved to 5-7 (3-3 PSAC).

Ryan Smith shot 9 of 16 from the field and finished with 19 points and eight rebounds. Andrew Shull hit five triples and provided 19 points and three steals. Watts added five rebounds and three assists.

Sophomore guard Will Kromka snatched a career-high 12 rebounds to pair with 13 points to notch his first career double-double. Vinnie Cugini contributed eight points and seven boards off the bench.

It was a proficient performance from the field for the Mountain Cats, who shot 50.7% (38 of 75) and went 11 for 12 from the free-throw line.

After a defensive stop in the waning seconds of the first half, Smith stroked a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Mountain Cats a 46-35 advantage at the break. That lead was never really in jeopardy throughout the second half despite the Raiders cutting the deficit to 62-53 with roughly 10 minutes remaining.

Pitt-Johnstown responded when Zuchelli scored all six of his points during a 14-7 run over the next five minutes to take a 76-60 lead. The lead didn't shrink below 12 points for the final five minutes.

The Mountain Cats outrebounded the Raiders 47-37 and racked up a 50-34 advantage in points in the paint. They also forced 12 turnovers and scored 15 points off those miscues. 

Markus Frank collected a game-high 27 points to go along with a team-high nine rebounds for the Raiders, who dropped to 5-6 (2-4 PSAC).

Pitt-Johnstown begins PSAC West play with a trip to Mercyhurst slated for Saturday with a 1 p.m. tip-off in Erie.