BRADFORD, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's basketball team held on for a 62-59 victory over Mount Aloysius in an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference contest Saturday at the KOA Arena.
"I'm very proud of the way the guys bounced back after our last game," Head Coach Ryan Shay said. "I was very pleased with the way we defended as a team tonight and it was great to see Dylan and Reggie have good shooting nights. Everyone seemed to chip in at some point and it was fun to watch them play so unselfishly."
Up one point with 11 seconds left, Reggie Rogers snagged all hope for Mount Aloysius to take the lead as he stripped the ball handler at the top of the key as he made a move to drive to the hoop.
Rogers was fouled on his fastbreak attempt, and he then converted both free throws to put the game away.
Mount Aloysius entered the game in third place in the AMCC, but after the result, the Mounties drop to 4-3 in conference play and 7-7 overall while the Panthers improve to 2-4 in AMCC action and 3-8 overall.
Rogers led all scorers with 20 points on 7-16 shooting and 4-8 from three-point range.
Dylan Mitchell had a career night shooting from long range, connecting on 4-5 three-pointers -- all of which in the first half -- and 5-7 shooting overall for 17 points.
Off the bench, Justin Kusiappouh chipped in 10 points and grabbed six boards.
In total, Pitt-Bradford made 11 three-pointers, setting a new season high. Zach Reigel connected on a pair of three's while Jeffrey Fry knocked down one.
Desmond Brogsdale collected a game-best seven boards and dished five assists.
The first half belonged to the Panthers as Pitt-Bradford's tenacious defense held Mount Aloysius to a single-digit point total until the 8:25 mark.
In the final minute of the first half, Mitchell knocked down one of his four first-half three-pointers, then Rogers tipped the ball loose from the unexpecting Mountie point guard and laid it in as time winded down.
Pitt-Bradford eventually took a 34-31 lead into the half.
The Panthers continued to push, eventually building their largest lead of 13 points at the 11:58 mark on Fry's three-pointer.
But the Mounties began to claw back and cut the deficit to single-digits with a bucket at the 8:41 mark.
However, Reigel knocked down a corner three-pointer in front of his own bench to go up 54-42 on the next possession.
Down the stretch, Mount Aloysius mounted a rally as a bucket with 1:24 left brought it to a one-possession game, then another layup with 40 seconds left brought the score to 60-59.
The Mounties got a stop and set up a chance for the win with 11 seconds left.
But Rogers ended that before they could get a shot off, and Pitt-Bradford held on for the conference win.
Pitt-Bradford is 2-1 in conference games at the KOA Arena.
The 59 points scored by Mount Aloysius are the fewest allowed by the Pitt-Bradford defense this season.
With 12 steals Saturday, Pitt-Bradford has grabbed double-digit steals in seven if its 11 games this season.
The Panthers will be back in action with a conference game at Hilbert Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.
