EDINBORO, Pa. (January 16, 2016) – A year ago the Edinboro men's basketball team jumped out to a 20-point first-half lead and coasted to a 92-78 win over Pitt-Johnstown at McComb Fieldhouse. On Saturday, the Fighting Scots found themselves on the other end of a first-half blowout as the Mountain Cats played a near-flawless first half and handed Edinboro an 80-65 defeat. With their second loss, Edinboro fell to 9-6 overall and 8-4 in the PSAC West. UPJ is now 10-6 and 7-5, respectively.

UPJ ran off the first seven points of the game before Henri Wade-Chatman finally got the Fighting Scots on the board with a jumper with 16:33 left in the first half. The Mountain Cats followed with the next 17 points as Edinboro missed its two shots and turned the ball over four times over the next three-and-a-half minutes. UPJ made five-of-six shots during the same period while jumping out to a 21-2 lead.

Edinboro was unable to cut the deficit to less than 18 points during the rest of the half, with the Mountain Cats going up by as many as 26 points on two oaccsions, the last at 44-18 to end the first half.

The first twenty minutes saw Pitt-Johnstown shoot 61.5 percent from the floor (16-of-26), including 5-of-11 3-pointers. Edinboro, meanwhile, made just 7-of-26 shots (26.9 percent) and missed all six of their 3-point attempts. The Scots were also guilty of nine turnovers, which UPJ took full advantage of. The Mountain Cats had a 19-4 advantage in points off turnovers in the first half.

Edinboro made a valiant effort to come back in the second half behind a full-court press. They immediately cut the lead to 19 points at 46-29 less than two minutes into the half. They would close to 11 points at 56-45 with 9:57 remaining when Sheldon Brogdon made a pair of free throws. A 14-4 run featured six free throws by Brogdon.

UPJ built the lead back up to 17 points at 69-52 with five minutes to play, but the Fighting Scots had another run in them. They closed to 11 points once again at 73-62 with 2:06 to play on Tommy Scales' tip-in. Unfortunately, Nate Snodgrass nailed a jumper and Jake Laravie sank a pair of free throws to quell the comeback.

Edinboro ended up shooting 35.5 percent for the game (22-of-62), including 4-for-19 on 3-pointers. Pitt-Johnstown, meanwhile, shot a sizzling 57.8 percent (26-of-45), the second-highest figure by an Edinboro opponent this year. The Mountain Cats were also 7-for-17 on 3-pointers and 21-for-24 at the line.

UPJ held a 33-29 rebounding advantage, although the Scots pulled down 11 offensive boards. Edinboro would force 12 second-half turnovers as UPJ ended with 17 on the day, compared to 12 for Edinboro.

Scales paced Edinboro with 15 points and 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double. The senior center had six offensive rebounds. Wade-Chatman added 14 points but played just 25 minutes while saddled with foul trouble. Michael Beck and Je'Land Head had eight points apiece.

Backcourt running mate Jaymon Mason was held to a season-low eight markers, his first game under double figures this year. The sophomore guard came in tied for first in the PSAC in scoring at 21.7 ppg., but made just 2-of-10 field goals.           

Snodgrass ended the day with a game-high 23 points, making 8-of-13 field goals, including 3-of-5 3-pointers. A.J. Leahey added 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting and pulled down seven rebounds. Dale Clancy made 8-of-10 free throws on his way to 15 points, and the 5'10" sophomore added a team-high eight rebounds.

Edinboro will look to snap its two-game losing streak on Wednesday, January 20, hosting California(Pa.). that contest will tip off at 7:30 p.m. at McComb Fieldhouse.