The Pitt-Bradford men's basketball team dropped its second straight game to open conference play, falling 80-70 to La Roche Saturday.

The Redhawks controlled from nearly start to finish as the Panthers' only lead came in the game's opening minutes at 3-2. La Roche's ability to hit outside shots was the difference as the Redhawks hit nine three-pointers compared to the Panthers' two.

Pitt-Bradford won the rebounding battle 33-30, totaled 20 second-chance points and dominated the scoring in the paint 44-30, yet struggled to defend the three-point line in the second half.

La Roche hit a three in the final seconds of the first half to take a 34-27 lead at the midway point after leading by as much as eight. Pitt-Bradford trimmed the deficit to 40-37 on Dylan Niedermeyer's basket at the 16:27 mark of the second half, but the Redhawks' Evan Bonnaure hit a three-pointer on the ensuing possession to ignite a 13-4 run.

La Roche would continue to add to its lead, going 6-10 from long-range in the second half, to push the advantage to 18. The Redhawks shot 54 percent from the field over the final 20 minutes and 47 percent for the game.

Pitt-Bradford hit 43 percent of its attempts but was 2-13 beyond the arc. The Panthers went 16-22 from the free throw line while the Redhawks were 17-20.

Evan Greening paced the Panthers with a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds, Manny Welch totaled 14 points, and Fateem Brockington added 13 points.

Pitt-Bradford falls to 2-3 on the season and will have the week off before hosting