Pitt-Johnstown weathered the ups-and-downs in an effort to keep its postseason hopes alive, but could not quite complete a second half comeback in a last-minute 78-75 loss to Seton Hill on Wednesday night in the Sports Center.
The Mountain Cats wrapped up their season at 15-13 with a 10-12 mark in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. The Griffins improved to 14-13, 11-10 in the PSAC and extended their season by at least a few more days after securing the No. 6 seed in the PSAC West for the upcoming conference tournament that commences next Monday.
Peyton Alazaus and Hayden Taylor each poured in 15 points apiece to lead the way. Alazaus, who added five assists and three rebounds, finished three 3-pointers shy of tying the all-time school record of 199 3-point makes set by Kelsey Sleighter (2011-2015).
Cassidy Crawford contributed 14 points, nine rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. Kylah Franklin also provided 14 points to go along with five boards and two steals.
A senior-laden lineup down the stretch nearly brought the Mountain Cats all the way back from an 11-point halftime deficit. In a game that featured five ties and nine lead-changes, Pitt-Johnstown led briefly on three different occasions in the fourth, but couldn't build a lead larger than three points.
Seton Hill took a 66-61 lead midway through the fourth on a jumper by Christiane Frye. The Mountain Cats responded with an 8-2 flurry capped off by nifty layups from Krista Troyer and Alazaus to go up 69-68 with just 3:21 remaining.
Taylor's layup nearly a minute later made it 71-70 to give the Mountain Cats their last lead of the game. Despite a pair of free throws from Crawford that tied it at 73-all, Sakeria Haralson's short jumper off the backboard 15 seconds later put the Griffins on top for good.
After Seton Hill's Abby Mankins went 1-for-2 at the free-throw line, Pitt-Johnstown had a chance to send the game into overtime, but Alazaus' 3-pointer was off the mark as the clock ran out.
Following a frustrating first quarter, the Mountain Cats finished at 38% (27-of-71) from the field and 28% (7-of-25) from beyond the arc. They were a perfect 14-for-14 from the free-throw line, including a 10-for-10 performance in the fourth.
The Griffins shot 42.6% (26-of-61) from the field, 36.8% (7-of-19) from 3-point range and 76% (19-of-25) from the free-throw line.
The Mountain Cats jumped out to a 5-0 start, but the Griffins used a 16-4 rally to grab a 16-9 lead after one and eventually took a 36-25 lead into the break. Pitt-Johnstown scored the first points of the third in less than two minutes to trim the deficit to 36-33. Hallie Cowan had 22 points for Seton Hill to lead all scorers.
Coach Mike Drahos and his staff will bid farewell to eight seniors in Alazaus, Crawford, Franklin, Taylor, Troyer, Olivia Fasick, Kendyl McKissock and Alana Belknap.
After dishing out five assists in her final collegiate game, Fasick claimed sole possession of fifth place on the school's all-time assists list and finished her career with 518. She also became the 39th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 points earlier this season in a win over Bloomsburg.
