Mt. Aloysius hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 25 seconds remaining in Saturday's AMCC contest, capping a late eight-point comeback, to knock off the Pitt-Bradford men's basketball team 71-69.
Jon Haenel's layup with exactly four minutes left staked Pitt-Bradford to its largest lead of the game at 66-58. Playing for the first time in seven days due to finals and having trailed by as much as 12 in the opening half, it appeared the Panthers were in prime shape to escape with a much needed conference victory; however, the Mounties had other plans in mind.
Mt. Aloysius limited Pitt-Bradford to just one made field goal the rest of the way, outscoring the Panthers 13-3 in the process to stun the visitors. Following Haenel's bucket, the Mounties converted on three-straight possessions, bookended by a pair of Darryl Sanders' baskets, to trim the margin to 66-65. Sanders' jumper at the 1:03 mark briefly pushed the Mounties ahead 67-66.
Evan Greening's putback with 35 seconds left helped Pitt-Bradford regain the lead, but Chad Eisenhuth hit the game-winning three on the ensuing possession to pull Mt. Aloysius back ahead 70-68. Greening had a chance to tie the game after being fouled on the next play yet missed the first of two free throws.
After Eisenhuth matched Greening at the line, the Panthers failed to register a shot, completing the Mountie comeback.
Mt. Aloysius built a 12-point lead in the first half before Pitt-Bradford rallied to close the gap. Haenel hit consecutive threes, capping a 15-3 Panther run, to tie the game at 33. After exchanging baskets, the Mounties converted a pair of free throws to lead 37-35 at halftime.
Both teams shot 39 percent from the field, and Pitt-Bradford was 23 of 31 from the charity stripe. The 23 made attempts were a season-high for the Panthers. The Blue and Gold outrebounded the Mounties by six and scored 25 second-chance points. Mt. Aloysius hit eight three-pointers and scored 16 points off 18 Pitt-Bradford turnovers.
Greening finished with a double-double of 20 points and 18 rebounds, including going 10 of 14 from the free throw line. Fateem Brockington and Sahlil Harris each finished with 10 points apiece, and Jaewon Mitchell totaled four blocks.
Pitt-Bradford falls to 3-4 on the season and 1-3 in league play. The Panthers wrap up the first half of their schedule Monday at home against Juniata with tipoff is slated for 5 p.m.