Pitt-Johnstown fell victim to a second-half comeback by Slippery Rock in a 90-74 setback on Monday night at Morrow Field House in what was the PSAC West opener for both teams.

The Mountain Cats slipped to 7-7 (3-4 PSAC) after more than a two-week hiatus since their last contest.

Senior guard Ryan Smith, who recently went over 1,000 points for his career, paced the scoring with a team-high 21 points on 7-of-12 from the field. Baden Forup provided 20 points and five rebounds. Freshman guard Jay Rose tacked on 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

While neither team pulled away for most of the first half, the Mountain Cats began to build some much-need momentum in the final four minutes. 

Down 28-24, Rose tallied seven points during a 13-3 run to end the half. Sophomore Vinnie Cugini notched a layup in the waning seconds that gave the Mountain Cats a 37-31 advantage heading into the locker room. It capped off a half where they shot 51.6% (16-of-31) from the field and held the Rock to just a 33% clip.

However, the tables turned near the midway point of the second half. After Forup made it an 8-point cushion following a layup at the 17:38 mark, the Mountain Cats quickly found themselves on the wrong end of a 19-4 run that put them in a 52-45 hole with 13 minutes to go.

The Mountain Cats cut it to four on two separate occasions, the last of which came with eight minutes left when Rose connected on a jumper that cut it to 64-60. But Slippery Rock could not miss in the second half, posting a staggering 70% mark (21-of-30) from the floor that prevented the Mountain Cats from clawing back into the game.

Jomo Goings led all scorers with 22 points for Slippery Rock, which won its seventh straight game and moved to 9-6 (6-2 PSAC). Maceo Austin added 21 points, while Day Waters supplied 20 more.

Pitt-Johnstown will host Edinboro on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Sports Center as part of a doubleheader with the women's team.