Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's basketball team hosted LaRoche on Saturday evening in a crucial early-season AMCC matchup. The Panthers erased a nine-point second-half deficit and then outlasted the Redhawks through two overtime periods to win the game on a last-second driving layup from Xavion Boone Roberson.
The Panthers opened the scoring a minute in on a Jesse Laster layup. They took a timeout after Jamarion Butler made a layup after three minutes. LaRoche quickly tied the game, but Butler kept Pitt-Bradford on the front foot, as he was able to steal the ball and race to the basket for a fast-break dunk. After Boone Roberson put the Panthers ahead 13-9 with a free throw, LaRoche scored 7 unanswered to take a 3-point lead of their own. Pitt-Bradford erased the lead as Laster made four straight from the line.
Trailing by one with 8 minutes left in the half, the Panthers scored 6 in a row. Mo Berete started the rally with a pair of free throws and then Butler and Keshon Kittrell made layups in transition to force a Redhawk timeout. LaRoche ended the rally with a layup, but the Panthers answered as Butler made a jumper and Gus Napoleon added two from the line to put Pitt-Bradford ahead 29-22. The Panthers struggled over the final 3:38 of the half, as LaRoche locked down with a zone defense, limiting Pitt-Bradford to a Laster free throw. In that span, the guests scored 7 of their own to cut the Panther lead to 1 point at the break.
LaRoche came out of halftime scorching, quickly scoring 7 unanswered points to take a 6-point edge. After a timeout, the Panthers quickly cut the deficit to one, as Trey Davis made a three, and then following a steal by Butler, Laster converted a fast break layup. The teams exchanged baskets over the next few possessions, but the Panthers hit a cold streak at the 16-minute mark, allowing LaRoche to push their lead back to 8 points.
The guests led by nine with ten minutes remaining when a Kittrell steal led to a Napoleon three that started the Panther comeback. Pitt-Bradford held the Redhawks off the board for two minutes, while Coby Farley and Butler both converted LaRoche turnovers into second-chance baskets, cutting the lead down to 2 points. LaRoche stayed in front for the next four minutes until Boone Roberson converted a three-point play and Butler made a putback layup after a blocked shot by Berete tied the game at 60. Berete blocked another shot on the next possession and Coby Farley followed it with a three from the wing, giving the Panthers their first lead since the opening seconds of the half.
Farley hit another three after a LaRoche jumper and then following a pair of Redhawk free throws found Berete for a slam dunk to keep the lead at four. The visitors made a three of their own with a minute left but Napoleon kept the Panthers ahead with a driving layup. LaRoche answered again tying the game at 70 with a three with 30 seconds left, giving the Panthers a chance to win at the buzzer. On the final possession, the Panthers were able to get a shot off, but Boone Roberson's effort missed the mark, sending the game into overtime.
The Panthers started the overtime strongly, as Napoleon made a putback layup and Berete added another following a LaRoche turnover. The Redhawks cut the lead to one and had a chance to go ahead after a Panther miss, but Butler was able to steal the ball at the top of the key on the next possession and beat the defense down the floor for another slam dunk. Farley made another clutch three with just under a minute remaining, but LaRoche was able to score four unanswered in the last minute, including a pair of free throws with 2 seconds remaining to force a second overtime period.
Pitt-Bradford had an even better start to the second overtime, as Farley made back-to-back threes to give the Panthers a six-point edge after 46 seconds. Boone Roberson drove to the basket for a layup to answer two LaRoche free throws and Napoleon pushed the lead to 7 with a driving basket after another free throw. The Redhawks made another charge with 3 minutes left, scoring 5 straight, cutting the Panther lead to 2. Butler kept Panthers in front for a moment, as he made a layup on a pass from Napoleon, But LaRoche was able to tie the game at 91 with 22 seconds left after a mid-range jumper and two from the line, setting up a thrilling finish.
With 11 seconds to go, the Panthers inbounded the ball after a timeout. following an exchange of passes at the top of the key, Boone Roberson was able to find some space in the LaRoche zone defense, drive to the basket, and make a double-clutch layup ahead of the buzzer. The Panthers celebrated the basket but had to refocus, as after a huddle, the referees put two-tenths of a second back on the clock. The Redhawks attempted a football-based inbounds play, but Butler was able to knock the long pass away, confirming the Panther victory.
Jamarion Butler once again led the Panthers to the victory. He scored a team-high 24 points while also recording team highs in rebounds (9), assists (5), steals (3), and blocked shots (3). Along with the game-winning basket, Xavion Boone Roberson finished with 10 points on 4-7 shooting, with 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Coby Farley scored 19 off the bench, making 5-7 from beyond the arc in the second half and overtime. He also had 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Gus Napoleon also reached double figures, scoring 14 points. Mo Berete provided the Panthers with a spark off the bench late in the game, scoring 8 points and blocking 3 shots in 19 minutes of action.
The victory moves Pitt-Bradford to 6-3 on the season, with a 3-1 record in AMCC play. They will take the next 6 days off for final exams, before returning to action for a pair of home games before the holiday break. The Panthers will host Grove City at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, December 15th, before taking on Penn State-DuBois the next day.
