BRADFORD, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's basketball team pulled off a thrilling double-overtime victory against Pitt-Greensburg at the KOA Arena Saturday to earn its first Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference victory of the season.
With the 87-82 win, the Panthers improve to 2-5 overall and 1-3 in AMCC action while the Bobcats move to 3-6 overall and 1-3 in conference play.
"I'm really proud of the fight the team displayed tonight," Head Coach Ryan Shay said. "Multiple guys contributed at different points in the game to help us get the win. We still need to be more careful in end-of-game situations, but they made up for it with great defensive pressure when it mattered most."
Desmond Brogsdale led the way in scoring for the Panthers as he matched his career high with 23 points.
Justin Kusiappouh dropped 21 points and grabbed six boards off the bench and Reggie Rogers was also in double-figures with 10 points.
With the score at 68-65 in favor of the Panthers, a Pitt-Bradford turnover following a made UPG bucket with about a second remaining in regulation set up a chance for the Bobcats to tie the game and send it to overtime.
Pitt-Greensburg's Jojo France got the shot off from the corner off the inbound pass as the backboard illuminated signaling the end of regulation.
The ball bounced around the rim and off the backboard multiple times before falling through the hole, sending the game to OT.
Brogdale took over the scoring for the Panthers, knocking down three of four attempts from the field, including a conversion on a conventional three-point play.
But Greensburg came through with the buckets it needed and the two teams went to a second overtime.
It was all Panthers in the second OT, as Pitt-Bradford held the Bobcats to 2-7 shooting in the period and went 3-4 themselves while making 5-7 free throws.
The signature play of the period came at the 2:33 mark when Kusiappouh collected a missed UPG three-pointer and took it coast-to-coast for the layup, putting the Panthers ahead two scores, 84-80, and forced a Greensburg timeout.
Pitt-Bradford's defense got its necessary stops and a pair of Brogsdale free throws put the game out of reach with under three seconds remaining to secure the AMCC win.
The Panthers got off to a strong start in the contest, jumping out to a 35-30 lead in the first half.
Pitt-Bradford shot 52 percent (13-25) from the field in the half, led by Kusiappouh's 12 points off the bench.
Greensburg bounced back with a strong second half to tie the game, highlighted by shooting 55.6 percent from the floor including eight three-pointers in the half.
In all, the Panther defense forced 24 Greensburg turnovers with 19 steals led by Brogsdale with six and Ugwunna Amadi with five.
Rogers dished a team-best five assists.
Pitt-Bradford will be idle for a week to focus on final exams but will be back in action with an AMCC road contest next Saturday at Franciscan.
