The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's basketball team (3-9, 2-3) snapped their losing streak with a convincing, 97-82, victory over AMCC foe, Penn State Altoona (1-8, 0-6), Saturday afternoon at the KOA Arena.
"We are excited to get back in the win column," said Pitt-Bradford head coach Britt Moore. "Altoona played very gritty and Wilson was outstanding. We have a quick turnaround for another game tomorrow that is just as important."
Eric Matheson led five Panthers in double figures with 26 points and seven rebounds while Evan Greening posted another double-double with 22 points and 13 boards. Colton Holzwarth added a season-high 18 points and Sahlil Harris and Manny Felch finished with 11 points each in the victory. Steven Owens chipped in with six points and five rebounds off of the bench in the victory.
Javon Wilson was outstanding for Penn State Altoona, single-handedly keeping the Lions in the game. He finished with 35 points, including a 6-9 mark from beyond the arc in the loss.
The Panthers got out to a fast start, scoring the games first nine points, eventually taking 20-1 lead on a Matheson long-range jumper. The big run prompted a Penn State Altoon timeout with 14:09 left to play in the opening half.
The Lions chipped away at the Panthers lead, eventually cutting the deficit to six on a Quinn Luhr three-point jumper with 3:33 left in the first.
The teams traded buckets over the final three minutes and the Panthers went into the locker room with a 35-43 lead at the half.
Penn State Altoona opened the second half on fire from the floor, leading to a 12-2 run and a tie game at 47-47 with 16:23 left.
The Lions never gave in, mostly trailing by single digits, until the 5:34 mark when Penn State Altoona was hit with a technical foul. The Panthers responded with a 9-0 run, taking a 77-63 lead on Harris' three-point bucket at the 4:26 mark.
Pitt-Bradford hung on for the key conference victory.
It's a quick turnaround for the Panthers, as they host Mount Aloysius, Sunday afternoon at one at the KOA Arena.
