Bradford, PA. – The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's basketball team played their home opener on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Hiram Terriers 85-75 in KOA Arena.
The Panthers struggled to find their footing as they were kept off the board for the first three minutes of play, however after Jamarion Butler started the scoring with a basket inside, they quickly took the lead as Xavion Boone Roberson scored on back-to-back possessions. Butler scored inside on two consecutive possessions with 14:30 remaining in the half, but Hiram responded with 10 straight points over a 3-minute span to take an 18-12 lead. Butler ended the rally from the free throw line, and the Panthers started a run of their own, scoring 9 straight points to take the lead on a fast break slam dunk. The teams exchanged baskets over the next minute before the Panthers took the lead for good with 6:37 to go. Coby Farley stole the ball in the front court and raced to the basket, lobbing a pass off the backboard for Jesse Laster, who slammed home the alley-oop to give Pitt-Bradford the lead. Farley scored 7 of the next 10 to keep the Panthers in front and then assisted a Trey Davis layup to send the game to the break with the Panthers ahead 42-36.
After the break, the Panthers maintained their lead for the first 8 minutes of the 2nd. Gus Napoleon started the half with a three and then Boone Roberson and Davis made layups to keep the lead at 7. With 12:39 remaining, The Panthers pushed their lead into double digits with an 8-1 run. Napoleon started the rally, driving to the basket for a layup before Laster scored four straight and assisted Farley on a jumper. Hiram was able to use an effective zone defense to cut the lead down to 8 with just under 6 minutes remaining until Napoleon hit a pair of three-pointers to stop the rally. In the final two minutes, Pitt-Bradford made 8 of 10 from the free throw line to put the game away.
Gus Napoleon led the Panthers with 19 points and 8 rebounds. He made 6-11 from the field, including 3-7 from three, and made all four free throws he attempted. Jamarion Butler scored 16 points for the Panthers. Coby Farley added 14 off the bench and Xavion Boone Roberson scored 11 on 3-3 from the field and 5-6 from the charity stripe.
The Panthers move to 2-2 on the season with the win. They will be back in action on Tuesday, November 21st when they host Fredonia for the second game of a matinee doubleheader in KOA Arena. The action on Tuesday begins with a women's basketball game at 12:00 p.m., before the men tip off around 2:00.
