BRADFORD, Pa. – The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's basketball team fell to Franciscan, 63-52, Saturday afternoon at the KOA Arena in an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference game.
Malique McCoy was the team's leading scorer with 15 points off the bench while Dylan Mitchell scored 14 points himself.
It took some time for the Panther offense to kick into gear as Franciscan held a 31-13 advantage with four minutes to play in the first half.
But Jeffrey Fry converted a four-point play at the three-minute mark to give the Panthers a lift.
Five more points for Pitt-Bradford before the break sent Franciscan into the half ahead, 35-22.
Mitchell did a bulk of the scoring the Panthers in the first half, scoring 12 points on 4-8 shooting and 4-4 at the free-throw line.
The Panthers fought back early in the second half, though.
A three-pointer by McCoy kick-started a 9-0 Panther run to cut the Barons' lead to 41-37 at the 12:57 mark.
But the Barons later went on a 10-0 run to increase their lead to 56-38 at the 4:38 mark.
McCoy knocked down a pair of three-pointers down the stretch but the Barons would hold on for the 63-52 victory.
Pitt-Bradford shot 40 percent in the second half (10-25) with McCoy scoring 14 second-half points.
Reggie Rogers was the team's leading rebounder with four and also grabbed a pair of steals.
The Panthers' defense forced 21 Franciscan turnovers and they turned the ball over 22 times themselves.
Pitt-Bradford made 16 of its 22 attempts at the free-throw line with Mitchell and McCoy leading the way with four apiece.
Up next, the Panthers will play the third and final game at the KOA Arena of its three-game homestand as D'Youville comes to town for an AMCC matchup Wednesday.
