BRADFORD, Pa. – The Pitt-Bradford men's basketball team ended its season with a 15-12 overall record and finished fifth in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference with a 12-6 conference record.
The Panthers finished the regular season on a five-game winning streak that earned them a conference tournament berth. Pitt-Bradford was eliminated by Hilbert College during the first round of the AMCC tournament.
The Panthers were led this season by junior Eric Matheson (Ridgway/Ridgway.) Matheson received AMCC Second Team honors for the Panthers after finishing the year third in three-point percentage (44.6), seventh in points per game (15.8), and third in assists per game (4.2).
Matheson had an outstanding year on both sides of the ball, finishing third in the conference in steals (2.2) and second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.9).
The Panthers also had an outstanding year from senior Keith Burgess (Hillside, NJ/Hillside) who was selected to the AMCC Third Team All-Conference.
Burgess, a three-time AMCC All-Conference selection, led the Panthers in field-goal percentage at 45.8 and finished second on the team in scoring at 15.3 points per game.
Burgess finished his senior year at Pitt-Bradford with an impressive resume: He collected All-AMCC honors three years in a row and finished as a member of the Pitt-Bradford Panthers' 1,000-point club, finishing his senior year with 1,371 points.
The supporting cast for the Panthers included senior Tyler Fantaskey (Warren/Warren), sophomore Zach Smith (Smethport/Smethport) senior Hiree Peoples (Philadelphia/Girard College) and senior Lucas Pichette (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda).
Fantaskey provided the Panthers with big minutes coming off of the bench and a presence from beyond the arc. Despite coming off of the bench, Fantaskey ranked 10th in the conference and second on the team in three-point field-goal percentage at 39.3 and was fourth on the team with nine points per game.
Smith gave the Panthers a great effort on the glass as he led the team and finished 10th in the AMCC in rebounding with 6.4 rebounds per game. Aside from his rebounding ability, Smith gave the Panthers a third scoring option from the field, finishing third in points per game with 11.5.
Peoples gave the Panthers a high-energy presence coming off the bench and playing lockdown defense. People gave the Panthers 5.5 points per game off the bench and played 16.3 minutes a game.
Pichette led the Panthers in the paint as he commanded the key all season for Pitt-Bradford. Pichette chipped in with 7.5 points per game and finished seventh in the conference in offensive rebounds, bringing in 42 over the course of the season.
Head coach Britt Moore said, "I felt like we made some progress with the best league record in six or seven years. We had a great group to work with daily, and they put their personal goals aside for the greater good of the team. We are looking forward to next year. Even though we're losing so much firepower, we expect underclassmen to step up."
Coach Moore will lose some key players after the 2015 season but will have some players coming back for the next season.
