Hamburg, N.Y. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's basketball team had a slow restart after the break, which led to the Panthers falling on the road to Hilbert 70-56.
The Panthers fell behind at the start, as the hosts were able to score 6 of the first 8 points of the game. Jamarion Butler made a layup to get the Panthers started, and then Gus Napoleon was able to make a three to quickly cut the lead to one. After a Hilbert free throw, Napoleon made another jumper and Butler added a long ball of his own to give Pitt-Bradford their first lead of the game. Following a Panther timeout, JEsse LAster made a layup to push the lead to 5 points. The Hawks made another run, scoring 8 of the next 10 to retake the lead, but the Panthers were able to hit back when Trey Davis made a short jumper and Butler hit a layup. Coby Farley was able to answer a Hilbert field goal with a three to keep the Panthers in front before Davis made a bucket inside to restore the Panthers' 5-point edge.
Hilbert erased the Panther lead with baskets on consecutive possessions and then after a Napoleon jumper, converted a three-point play to go back in front. The teams exchanged the lead six times over the last 5-minutes of the half. Davis and Xavion Boone Roberson each made layups in the exchange and Keshon Kittrell added a big three. Trailing by three in the final second of the half, LAster was able to convert a three-point play to tie the game at 35 heading into the locker room at halftime.
In the second half, Boone Roberson made an early jump shot to match a pair of Hilbert free throws, but his effort was followed by a long dry stretch that saw the Panthers score only 2 points, a butler lay-in over the next ten minutes. In that span, Hilbert was able to push their lead to 21 points at 60-39 with 8:22 left in the game. After Laster ended the stretch with a jumper, the Panthers were able to cut into the lead on a Butler dunk and another NApoleon long ball but were not able to string enough baskets and defensive stops together to make a run at the Hilbert lead. Laster scored 5 in the last 5 minutes of play, while Mo Berete added a layup and Matt Pannes hit a three in the final minute to finish the scoring.
Jesse Laster finished as the Panthers leading scorer and rebounder, as he finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds. Jamarion Butler scored 11 points, while Gus Napoleon added 10.
The Panthers (11-9, 7-6) will look to get back in the win column this weekend as they head to Erie for a matchup with Penn State-Behrend. Tipoff is slated for 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.
