Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's basketball team played their second game in as many days on Saturday, defeating former AMCC foe Medaille 81-54 in KOA Arena.
The Panthers fell behind on the first possession of the game, but Lennon Lindholm hit a three from the corner on the next possession to give the Panthers a lead that they would never relinquish. The three started a rally that saw the Panthers score 9 straight points. Schneider followed the Lindholm three with a pair of baskets in the lane and Gavyn Mason hit a short jumper to put the Panthers up 9-2. Jeremy Rodriguez made a pair of jumpers to keep the Panthers in the lead as the visitors slowly chipped away at the lead, eventually cutting the advantage to one point with 10:49 to go.
Following a pair of jumpers from each team, the Panthers locked down the Maverick offense, keeping them off the board for 4 minutes and 15 seconds. In that span, Pitt-Bradford scored 14 straight points to push their lead into double digits. In the run, the Panthers received 4 points from Schneider and four from Gus Napoleon. It was capped by a three from Phillip Wallace. For the remaining 4 minutes of play in the first half, the Panthers held the Mavericks to 6 more points, while scoring 10 of their own to take a 41-22 advantage into the break.
After halftime, the visitors made a run at the Panthers, cutting the lead to 10 points after five and a half minutes of play. Pitt-Bradford quickly responded to the rally, as they were able to outscore the Mavericks 12-0 over a four-minute span to push the lead to 22. Schneider started the rally with a free throw and a layup on the next possession. Jeremy Rodriguez assisted BJ Wallace on a three to put the Panthers up 16, and then made a three of his own, followed by three free throws on the next possession. Pitt-Bradford was able to maintain their lead from that point forward, answering each Medaille basket with one of their own. In the final minute of play Nathan Nootbaar was able to make a tough putback layup and Logan Joncas sank a pair of free throws to round out the scoring.
Nathan Schneider had another efficient day from the field, making 11 of 13 shots to score a game-high 24 points. He was able to fill out the entire stat sheet as he also added 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. Phillip Wallace recorded his first double-double of the season as he scored 12 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. He also blocked four shots. Jeremy Rodriguez provided an important spark off the bench, scoring 17 points. He also tallied 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.
The victory moves the Panthers to 4-5 on the season. They will take the next week off for finals, before returning to action one final time before the holiday break. They will travel to Penn State-DuBois on Saturday, December 17th with tipoff slated for 3:00 p.m.
