Hiram, Oh. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford opened their 2024-25 campaign thrillingly Saturday evening, defeating Hiram 110-109 in overtime.
The Panthers got off the mark first, as Robert Richards converted a layup after a minute of play. The Terriers quickly answered and went on to push their lead to 8 after 4 minutes of action. The hosts continued to break the Panther press and built a 23-point lead at 36-13 before the 10-minute mark. Bratlen Salters started the Pitt-Bradford comeback with a three and then Jesse Laster threw down a dunk following a steal in the backcourt.
Still trailing by 19 points with just under 5 minutes to go in the half, a Coby Farley three started a 17-4 Panther run to close the period. A Laster dunk at 2:16 trimmed the deficit to single digits and then Farley hit a floating jump shot at the buzzer to send the game to the break with the Panthers down 54-51.
Pitt-Bradford came out of the halftime break firing on all cylinders, scoring the first 11 points of the half. Salters started the run with a three and then four straight layups put the Panthers ahead 62-54. The hosts settled in after a Xavion Boone layup, scoring 6 straight of their own. Despite a Xander Norris jump shot, the Hiram run continued and they scored 10 more in a row to go ahead 69-64.
The teams exchanged baskets throughout the middle portion of the second half, but the Panthers were never able to completely erase the Terrier lead. Jamarion Butler kept the hosts within shouting distance, scoring 15 points in the stretch. Boone converted a three-point play to tie the game at 96 and Butler made a free throw to give Pitt-Bradford their first lead since the 16-minute mark. Hiram took a 101-99 lead with 14 seconds to go, but Rodd Yarbrough found Keshon Kittrell inside for a game-tying layup with 5 seconds on the clock. Kittrell stayed locked in after the basket and made a key defensive steal in the final moments to send the game to overtime.
In the extra period, Hiram started strong, scoring on their first two possessions. Norris made a three to tie the game at 105, but after a Yarbrough free throw, the Terriers went back ahead with 4 in a row. In the final minute, Kittrell made three huge defensive plays to put the Panthers in the lead. He stole the ball with 45 seconds left which resulted in a Salters layup to put the Panthers down one. On the next possession, he grabbed a defensive rebound after a Hiram miss and then found Butler in the lane for a layup, giving the Panthers a one-point lead with 10 seconds to go. After a timeout, he turned the Terriers over again, stealing the ball in the final seconds to prevent a potential game-winning shot.
Jamarion Butler led all scorers with 30 points. He also led the Panthers with 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals. Freshman Braylen Salters had an impressive debut, scoring 25 points to go along with 3 assists and 4 steals. Jesse Laster scored 15 points on 6-10 shooting, while Keshon Kittrell and Xavion Boone both scored 11 points off the bench.
The season-opening victory puts the Panthers at 1-0. They will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Grove City for a midweek matchup with the Wolverines. Tip-off is slated for 6:00 p.m. at Grove City College Arena.
