Wooster, OH. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's basketball team picked up their first loss of the season on Sunday as a second-half rally fell short and the Panthers lost to #6 Wooster 114-96 in their first game at the Wooster Kiwanis Classic.
Xavion Boone got the game started, driving the length of the floor for a layup to open the scoring after a defensive stop to begin the game. Following a Wooster layup, Boone found Rodd Yarbrough open on the baseline for an easy dunk to keep the Panthers ahead. The hosts equaled a Jamarion Butler layup and then took their first lead of the game with four straight points to force a Pitt-Bradford timeout. Braylen Salters gave the Panthers the lead right-back, sinking a three on the next possession. The Fighting Scots answered with a three on their own and pushed their lead to 4 before Jeremy Rodriguez and Xander Norris made threes on consecutive possessions to put Pitt-Bradford back in front.
With the score tied at 15 after six minutes of action, Rodriguez drained another three, however, the resulting lead would be the Panthers' last as it was followed by a 10-2 Wooster run that saw the 6th-ranked Fighting Scots take control. Rodriguez kept the Panthers within shouting distance, scoring 6 in a row for Pitt-Bradford, but Wooster continued their rally, eventually opening a 21-point lead. During the Wooster run, Butler took over offensively for the Panthers, scoring 12 of the final 15 Pitt-Bradford points in the half. After another Boone layup was answered in the final minute of the 1st, Pitt-Bradford had two opportunities to cut into the lead before the break but could not come away with a basket and ended the half trailing 62-43.
The Panthers came out of the locker room firing, scoring 5 quick points to start the second half, but could not cut into the lead early as their efforts were matched by the hosts. Following a media time-out, the Panthers struck, going on a lightning-quick 7-0 run to begin cutting into the 19-point deficit. Boone started the rally with a three and then Jesse Laster converted back-to-back baskets. Pitt-Bradford eventually cut the lead to 10, but the Fighting Scots kept the Panthers at bay, keeping their advantage in double digits for the next 7 minutes of action.
Pitt-Bradford trailed 85-74 with 10 minutes remaining and went on one final run, looking to erase the deficit. Rodriguez started the rally, hitting a three off of a Salters assist. Following an exchange of free throws, Laster tipped in a putback layup, cutting the Wooster lead to 6 points. The hosts made 6 straight free throws to maintain an 8-point lead before Boone made a midrange jump shot off of a steal by Salters and then after another turnover, Salters made a layup to put Pitt-Bradford down four points at 92-88.
Unfortunately, the Panthers lost momentum after a pair of long jumpers came up empty, and the Fighting Scots took advantage, scoring 8 of 10 points to push their lead back to double digits. Wooster locked down defensively for the final 5-minutes of play, limiting the Panthers to three field goals, while beating the Pitt-Bradford press to score 14 of their own in the same span to finish the game with the score 114-96.
Jamarion Butler led all scorers to set a new career-high with 33 points. He also led Pitt-Bradford with 7 rebounds. Jeremy Rodriguez led the Panther's reserves, scoring 17 points in 19 minutes of action off the bench. Braylen Salters added 13 points and tallied 5 steals, while Jesse LAster also reached double figures, scoring 11 points in the loss.
The Panthers are now 8-1 on the season after the defeat. They will be right back in action tomorrow, as they will take on Case Western Reserve in their second game at the Wooster Kiwanis Classic. Tipoff is set for 3:45 on Monday.
