BRADFORD, Pa. – The Pitt-Bradford men's basketball team earned its fifth straight Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference victory in a row with a 64-46 lashing of the La Roche Redhawks on Saturday in front of a packed house at the KOA Arena.
Senior Lucas Pichette racked up a double-double in the low-post position with 15 points, 13 rebounds and one assist. Pichette finished 5-of-8 from the line.
Fellow senior Keith Burgess and sophomore Zach Smith each tallied 13 points. Burgess collected five total rebounds and two assists with two steals, while Smith registered five rebounds as well to go with two assists and one steal. Smith finished 3-of-5 from three-point range.
Junior Eric Matheson rounded out the double-digit performances with 10 points, four rebounds, all defensive, and five assists. He collected two steals as well while making two three's.
The student section featured a loud and raucous bunch this afternoon that assisted Pitt-Bradford (9-6, 6-2) with noise and cheers throughout the contest. The Panthers jumped out to a 31-19 lead at the break and were shooting 44.4 percent to La Roche's (1-14, 1-7) 29.6 percent.
Pitt-Bradford owned a 42-33 advantage on the boards and caused a total of 12 Redhawk turnovers. The Panthers finished the contest shooting 43.1 percent from the field, while La Roche tallied 32.1 percent. The Panthers were 6-of-14 from three, receiving a jolt of energy from the crowd each time one fell through the net.
The visitors snagged the first bucket that was quickly followed by Smith's first three of the afternoon. The Panthers never trailed for the remainder of the contest and moved their lead into double digits for the first time at the 10:24 mark of the first half.
Head coach Britt Moore emptied the bench in the final minute, allowing his second teamers a chance to receive some conference action.
"Good win at home today," Moore remarked after the game. "We came out and really played hard. I thought we dove for loose balls and did all the little things. We played good defense as a team against a very potent offense. We are excited for another home game on Monday."
The Panthers return to the court on Monday, Jan. 19. The Medaille Mavericks come to the KOA Arena at 8 p.m. as Pitt-Bradford tries to make it six in a row in the AMCC.
