SCRANTON, Pa. – The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford lit up the scoreboard and captured its first win of the season, 110-103, against Penn State-Berks in the Hilton Scranton Invitational.
"I think both teams played really well," said Head Coach Sean Brown Sr., who picked up his first win as the Panthers' men's basketball head coach. "Our defense was an issue again tonight, but we got the stops we needed. Sahlil led our balanced attack and was near a quadruple-double, and Colby and Jeff hit some timely three-pointers at the end. We are still a work in progress and will continue to get better as the season goes on."
Sahlil Harris led all scorers with 25 points and also grabbed 11 rebounds for a double-double, while also dishing eight assists and swiping eight steals.
Desmond Brogsdale (19), Colby Mills (15), Reginald Rogers (14), Dylan Niedermeyer (13), and Jeffrey Fry (13) also scored in double figures.
Tonight's 110 points for the Panthers are the most since Pitt-Bradford scored 112 against Mount Aloysius on Jan. 6, 2006.
The 213 total points in the game are a new Long Center record for combined points. The previous record of 206 was set on Dec. 21, 1974 in Scranton's 118-88 win over Spring Garden.
Brogsdale scored the first six points for the Panthers, and Pitt-Bradford eventually opened up a 13-7 lead at the 17:15 mark as Jacob Sutton knocked down a jumper.
Six-straight points for Berks tied the score at 13-13 at the 15:44 mark but another bucket from Sutton 20 seconds later gave the Panthers the lead once again.
Berks later gained the lead at the 14:01 mark and would hold on until the 8:37 mark when Colby Mills nailed a three-pointer to put Pitt-Bradford ahead, 29-27.
Another three-pointer from Mills at the 6:45 mark put the Panthers up double-digits, 38-27, and capped a 12-0 Pitt-Bradford run.
A three-ball from Rogers gave the Panthers their largest lead of the half at 13 points, holding a 46-33 advantage at the 3:56 mark.
Harris later laid one in with seven seconds remaining in the half and sent the Panthers into halftime up nine, 55-46.
Pitt-Bradford started the second half strong as a pair of quick three-pointers from Mills and a tip-in from Niedermeyer put the Panthers ahead 14 points, 67-53, three-and-a-half minutes into the half.
Berks later cut the deficit to single-digits and took the Panthers' lead down to five points, but a pair of three-pointers from Mills and a jumper from Fry put Pitt-Bradford back up 13 points, 75-62, at the 10:56 mark.
A three-pointer for Berks at the 6:15 mark cut the Panthers' lead to just three points, but Pitt-Bradford stormed back and eventually went up by double-digits at the 1:58 mark, 99-89, on a layup from Malique McCoy.
Fry knocked down a three-pointer at the 1:36 mark to send the Panthers over the century mark, 102-89.
Harris connected on a pair of free throws in the closing seconds of the game to put the Panthers up by 10, 108-98, and one last three-pointer for Berks brought the score to the eventual final, 108-101.
Pitt-Bradford shot 47.6 percent from the floor and 37.9 percent from long range, making 11 total three-pointers.
At the line, the Panthers went 21-27 (77.8 percent). Harris shot a perfect 10-10 from the charity stripe.
For his performance in the two-day event, Harris was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Pitt-Bradford will play its third-straight road game Tuesday as it travels to Keuka. The Panthers will host Hilbert for its home opener on Wednesday, Nov. 29, for their first conference action.
