MANSFIELD – Taylor Sweeney paced Mansfield with 19 points, but Pitt-Johnstown used a 23-9 run over the final six minutes to outlast the Mounties in an 85-70 final in the PSAC opener at First Citizens Community Bank Court at Decker Gymnasium.
 
A Nysir Marshburn 3-pointer gave Mansfield (1-4, 0-1 PSAC) its first lead of the game at 7-6 five minutes into play, but a 9-0 run gave the Mountain Cats a 15-7 advantage. Pitt-Johnstown (5-2, 1-0 PSAC) held on to a single-digit lead for the remainder of the half, but Sweeney drained a trifecta at the end of the period to pull the Mounties within two points at 36-34.
 
In the second half, Mansfield tied the game twice before taking the lead on a Tyler Moffe jumper. UPJ tied the game back up, but Sweeney splashed another trey to give the Mounties a three-point advantage.
 
The Mansfield lead slipped away, but Keith Farmer's jumper minutes later put the Mounties on top. It would prove to be the last lead of the game for Mansfield, as the Cats outscored their opponent 38-22 over the final 15 minutes to earn the conference win.
 
Sweeney scored a career high 19 points in the game, going 7-13 from the field, including 5-9 from distance. Marshburn totaled 18 points and pulled down nine rebounds for the second straight game. He also had five takeaways.
 
Moffe was 3-4 from 3-point range on his way to 13 points. Ryan Bernstein posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists in the second consecutive game with double-figure dimes.
 
Josh Wise scored 18 of his game-high 23 points in the second half to lead all scorers. Wise and Fred Mulbah combined for 33 second-half points to lead the Cats' offense.
 
Mansfield shot 48% (12-25) from beyond the arc for the game, but was limited to 40% (24-60) overall shooting from the field. In comparison, UPJ shot 53.6% (30-56) from the floor and 50% (8-16) from distance.
 
The Mounties complete a PSAC crossover weekend by hosting Gannon on Sunday for a 3 p.m. tip-off.