Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's basketball team played their second game in as many days on Saturday, falling to Penn State-DuBois 64-59.
For the second consecutive game, the Panthers got off to a slow start, as Penn State-Dubois scored 5 points on their first two possessions of the game. Pitt-Bradford quickly answered back, as Xavion Boone Roberson made a basket inside to put the Panthers on the board and then Gus Napoleon hit a three to tie the game at 5. The Lions retook the lead on the following possession and eventually pushed the advantage to 16-9 with eleven minutes left in the half. Logan Joncas started a Panther run with a three-pointer off of an inbound play which went on to tie the game as Boone Roberson and Samuel Brown each made layups on the following possessions.
The Panther offense sputtered after the Brown putback, as they were held to only 3 free throws and a Keshon Kittrell layup over the next five minutes, allowing Penn State-DuBois to build a 25-21 lead. With just over two minutes left in the half, the Panthers scored 6 straight to erase the lead and go ahead for the first time in the game. Boone Roberson made a short jumper before Jesse Laster and Kittrell each drove to the basket for layups. The Lions added a pair of late free throws, sending the game to the halftime break with the score tied at 27.
Pitt-Bradford came out of the gates firing in the second half, as they started the period on a 13-4 run. Napoleon started the half with a pair of long balls and then Laster answered a Lion free throw with a layup on a back cut. After the Lions hit a three of their own Brown was able to make a basket through contact and then threw down a dunk in transition through contact after a defensive stop. Brown converted the three-point play from the line. Trey Davis and Jamarion Butler each made layups in the half, as the Panthers pushed their lead to 10 with 13:24 remaining.
Boone Roberson made a steal at the top of the key and raced to the basket for a fast break layup to give the Panthers an 8-point lead with just under 10 minutes to go, but the play was followed by a long dry stretch, which saw the Panthers score just 4 points in 9 minutes, all from the free throw line. The visitors slowly chipped away at the lead, eventually hitting a three with 4 minutes to go to take a 51-50 lead. The three started a late 11-0 run that saw the Lions build a 9-point advantage with just under a minute remaining. After the teams exchanged free throws, Coby Farley made a three with 35 seconds left and following a missed front end, Jesse Laster was fouled and converted a pair of free throws, cutting the lead to 4 with 27 seconds left. Unfortunately, the Panthers were not able to cut further into the lead, as they could not convert from the field and Penn State-DuBois added three late free throws to put away the game.
Xavion Boone Roberson led the Panthers with 10 points in the game. He made 4-6 from the field and both his free throw attempts. Jesse Laster had 7 points in the loss while leading the team with 12 rebounds and 4 assists. Samuel Brown had 7 points and 9 rebounds in 23 minutes of action.
The Panthers go into the holiday break with a 7-4 record, their best start since the 2007-08 season. They will return to action in the new year, as they start 2024 with a home matchup against Penn State-Behrend on January 3rd. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. in KOA Arena.
