The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's basketball team won their first game of the season on Friday evening, defeating the Fredonia Blue Devils 89-83.
Talking Points:
- The Panthers were lights out from beyond the arc, shooting 60.9% from three. They had been shooting 18.9% this year.
- Pitt-Bradford used a balanced attack in the game as 6 different players finished in double figures.
- Jeff Fry led the way with 19 points. He made 3 of 5 from three and hit 8 free throws.
- Deondre Terwilliger and Daniel Lynch scored 14 each. Combined, they shot 7 for 12 from the field including 5 of 6 from deep. They also hit on 9 of 11 free throws.
- Freshman Alex Rodriguez scored his first collegiate points in the game, hitting 4 of 6 from three.
- Justin Kusiappouh recorded his second double double in three games. He finished with 12 points and 10 boards. He is currently 2nd in the AMCC in rebounding with 11.7 a contest.
Turning Points:
- The Panthers built a double digit lead with 5:49 to go in the first, but an 8-0 run quickly put the Blue Devils back in the game.
- The game contained 9 ties and 23 lead changes. The biggest Panther lead was 11 points with 6:46 to go in the first half, and their biggest deficit was only 3 points in the early stages of the contest.
- Pitt-Bradford got 50 points off of the bench, outscoring the Fredonia bench by 31 points.
- With the score tied at 79 with 2:47 to go, Fry hit a three from the corner to put the Panthers ahead for good.
- They hit 7 of 8 free throws down the stretch to put the game to bed.
When asked about the win head coach Ryan Shay said, "I was really pleased with how we shared the ball tonight. As a result we saw 6 guys get into double figures. I would love to see us continue to work defensively so we can limit the other teams opportunities, but they did a good job making things difficult for a good scorer like Bryan. Its really good getting a win to build some momentum moving into conference play next week."
The Panthers are now 1-2 on the season. They will begin AMCC competition on Tuesday night, as they will host Hilbert beginning at 6:00 p.m.