Pitt-Johnstown could not find the equalizer in the closing seconds of a 79-76 setback to Clarion on Wednesday night at the Sports Center.

The Mountain Cats fell to 10-11 (6-8 PSAC).

Senior guard Ryan Smith was once again the catalyst, drilling four 3-pointers and finishing with a game-high 26 points. He also collected eight rebounds and two assists.

Freshman Jay Rose was a perfect 5-for-5 at the free-throw line and closed with 15 points and four rebounds. Sophomore Baden Forup contributed 10 points off the bench.

Sean Dillon surpassed 1,000 points for his career on a pair of free throws with about 12 minutes left in the first half. The graduate student scored the first 819 points of his career as a three-year starter for Seton Hill and now sits at 1,005 points. He supplied six points, all from the free throw line, to pair with eight rebounds and a game-high seven assists.

In a game that featured 14 ties and 11 lead changes, the Mountain Cats were up 71-69 after a free throw from Smith with about four minutes left.

With less than two minutes to go, Smith cut baseline and scored on a layup to knot it at 73-all. Clarion responded with a layup, but it was answered 12 seconds later by two free throws from Dillon.

A jumper from Justice Easter with 43 seconds left gave the Golden Eagles the lead for good. Smith was fouled with 33 seconds to play, but a 1-for-2 trip to the line was the last time the Mountain Cats scored.

Easter made two free throws to extend the lead to three just six seconds later. Rose had an opportunity to send it to overtime, but could not connect on a pair of 3-point attempts in the final seven seconds.

Both teams had a fair share of shooting woes as Pitt-Johnstown finished at 40% (22-of-55) and Clarion closed at 41.4% (29-of-70). The Mountain Cats shot 25-for-31 from the free-throw line, while the Golden Eagles were 12-for-15.

Pitt-Johnstown raced out to a 12-0 lead in the opening four minutes. The Mountain Cats were down 35-34 before Smith went on a personal 8-0 tear to give them a 42-35 advantage at the break.

Justice finished with 16 points to pace the Golden Eagles, who moved to 11-10 (6-9 PSAC).

Pitt-Johnstown visits Edinboro on Saturday for a 3 p.m. tip-off.