JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown shot 56.3 percent from the field and matched the highest scoring output allowed by the Slippery Rock University men's basketball team in the last eight years on the way to a 98-84 victory Saturday at the Sports Center in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
The loss snaps The Rock's four-game winning streak and drops SRU's record to 19-8 overall and 16-4 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division. Pitt-Johnstown improves to 15-12 overall and 10-10 in league games with the win.
Slippery Rock led 27-22 with 7:16 to play in the first half, but Pitt-Johnstown ended the opening 20 minutes on a 19-9 run to take a 43-36 lead into halftime. The Mountain Cats ended the first half shooting 54.3 percent (19-for-35) from the field while holding SRU to 34.1 percent (15-for-44).
SRU was unable to derail the Mountain Cats' momentum to start the second half as UPJ made 12 of its first 16 shots to stretch its lead out to 24 points at 77-53 with 9:26 left in regulation. To their credit, The Rock did not quit despite the overwhelming margin.
Over the next seven minutes, Slippery Rock rattled off an impressive 25-11 run that cut Pitt-Johnstown's lead down to 88-78 and gave SRU a realistic comeback opportunity with 2:15 left to play.
Jared Armstrong connected on three 3-pointers and scored 13 points overall during the spurt with
John Warren II and
Nik Cazacu chipping in seven and five points, respectively, as well over the stretch.
However, Slippery Rock was unable to cut into UPJ's lead any further as SRU hit just two of its final six field goal attempts while the Mountain Cats made all eight of their free throws during the final two minutes to hold off The Rock's comeback bid and earn the 14-point win.
Armstrong made five 3-pointers on the day and finished with a team-high 21 points. Warren II was second for The Rock in scoring with 18 points. Armstrong and Warren II each passed out five assists as well.
Cazacu recorded his first collegiate double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive glass.
Vinny Lasley added 11 points and seven rebounds,
Nolen Gerald scored 10 points,
Julius Palmer snagged eight rebounds and
Amante Britt made three steals to round out The Rock's top performers.
Slippery Rock shot 36.5 percent (31-for-85) from the field, 37.5 percent (12-for-32) from 3-point range and 83.3 percent (10-for-12) from the foul line while committing just 10 turnovers in addition to holding advantages over Pitt-Johnstown in rebounds (45-40), steals (6-5) and second chance points (22-6).
Pitt-Johnstown, which made 36-of-64 field goal attempts, went 5-for-12 from 3-point range (41.7 percent) and a near perfect 21-for-25 (84 percent) from the foul line. Playing in his final home game, Josh Wise scored a game-high 30 points to pace the Mountain Cats.
Slippery Rock, which has already secured a first round bye and earned a quarterfinal home game in the upcoming PSAC Tournament, will close out the regular season March 2 when it hosts Gannon University at Morrow Field House. Opening tip against the Golden Knights is set for 3 p.m.
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