JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Pitt-Johnstown nearly completed a 12-point comeback in the second half before narrowly falling to Shepherd in a 66-62 decision on Saturday afternoon in the Sports Center.

The Mountain Cats slipped to 9-5 (3-3 PSAC).

Junior forward Baden Forup nearly singlehandedly willed the Mountain Cats back by securing his team-leading seventh double-double of the season with a career-high 28 points and 15 rebounds.

Jay Rose contributed 16 points and grabbed four rebounds. Adam Bilinsky also reached double-figures with 10 points and added a team-high five assists, four rebounds and two blocks.

Faced with a 44-32 deficit early on in the second half, the Mountain Cats responded with a 9-0 run that was spearheaded by Forup and Rose to close to within 44-41.

Vinnie Cugini's 3-pointer tied it at 48-all at the 9:46 mark. The game was tied three times over the next four-plus minutes before Pitt-Johnstown went up 56-54 on Bilinsky's layup with 5:29 remaining.

After falling behind by two, Forup answered with a layup to tie the game at 58-all. But it was the last time the Mountain Cats scratched back to even as Shepherd took the lead for good with a three just 22 seconds later.

Rose went 2-for-2 at the free-throw line to cut the deficit to 64-62 with five seconds left, but the Rams hit two free throws to put the game out of reach.

Pitt-Johnstown shot 41.3% (26 of 63) from the field and 81.8% (9 of 11) at the free-throw line. The Mountain Cats racked up a 50-28 advantage in points in the paint and had 18 second chance points compared to the Rams' five.

There were a total of eight ties and two lead changes. Rose connected on a pair of free throws with 32 seconds left in the first half as the Mountain Cats went into the break down 38-30. Brody Davis recorded a team-high 19 points for Shepherd, which moved to 7-5 (4-2 PSAC).

Pitt-Johnstown will begin PSAC Western Division play with a visit to Indiana (Pa.) for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off on Wednesday, Jan. 7.