NEWARK, N.J. – The Pitt-Bradford men's basketball team suffered an 80-72 defeat to tournament host Rutgers-Newark University in the John K. Adams Classic Championship on Sunday.
Senior Keith Burgess and junior Eric Matheson were each named to the All-Classic Team for their efforts in the two-day event. For the tournament, Burgess racked up a total of 35 points, five rebounds and three assists, including becoming the newest member of the Pitt-Bradford 1,000-point Club after Saturday's first round victory.
Matheson totaled 34 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists after registering an eye-popping 30 points in Sunday's championship game.
Matheson's 30 points, five rebounds and six assists made him Pitt-Bradford's (1-1) top performer on Sunday. The junior finished 4-of-5 from outside the arc. Burgess's 24 points, five rebounds and three assists were a close second. The two players combined to produce more than two thirds of the Panthers' offensive attack.
Rutgers-Newark's (2-0) David Azoroh completed his afternoon with 20 points and four rebounds to turn in the Scarlet Raiders' best performance.
Pitt-Bradford claimed the early lead by jumping on the board first and maintained that lead for nearly 10 minutes. Azoroh's layup at the 10 minute mark knotted the game at 17 points each and the Scarlet Raiders controlled the tempo and the scoreboard for the remainder of the period.
The Panthers shot 42.3 percent from the floor in the first half, including 30 percent from three-point range. From the line, Pitt-Bradford was 50 percent.
In the second period, the Panthers worked to retake the lead, inching closer to the tying bucket on multiple occasions. The deficit stayed in the single digits for the majority of the period, minus a two minute stretch at the five minute mark where it worked its way to 10 points.
As the clock dwindled to the one minute mark, the deficit became too much for the Panthers to overcome and as a result, the decision went to Rutgers-Newark.
For the game, Pitt-Bradford was 47.1 percent from the floor, including 35.3 percent from outside the arc. The Panthers were 66.7 percent from the stripe.
"It was a tough game to lose," said head coach Britt Moore. "We played hard but needed to get timely stops. We definitely have some things to work on before Saturday.
Pitt-Bradford is back on the court on Saturday, Nov. 22. The Panthers welcome Juniata to the KOA Arena for their home opener at 2 p.m.
