Pittsburgh, PA. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's basketball team returned to AMCC play on Saturday and picked up a road win in Pittsburgh as they defeated La Roche 105-94.
After a scoreless start for both teams, Jamarion Butler quickly gave Pitt-Bradford a 5-0 lead with two free throws, followed by a three from the wing. The hosts struck back for four points but Xander Norris completed a 4-point play to keep the Panthers in front. This pattern continued over the next few minutes as Pitt-Bradford would jump ahead with a few baskets and the Redhawks would respond to keep the game close. La Roche took a short-lived lead at the 9-minute mark before a Jesse Laster layup led to an 8-0 Panther run.
LaRoche chipped away at the lead with 4 straight but Pitt-Bradford quickly restored the advantage through a Jeremy Rodriguez three and an old-fashioned three-point play by Butler. The Redhawks eventually cut the Panther advantage to two points with a minute left, but Rodd Yarbrough went on a personal 6-1 run before the break. He made four straight from the charity stripe and then after a LaRoche free throw, drove to the basket to beat the buzzer with a layup and end the half with the Panthers ahead 53-46.
The Panthers started the second half strong, quickly scoring the first two baskets of the period on a midrange jumper by Laster and a layup from Yarbrough. Yarbrough answered four straight from the Redhawks with a three, but it only slowed the LaRoche rally, as they quickly scored the next 7 points to cut the lead to 3. The hosts followed Butlerjmper with 5 unanswered to tie the game at 62. The teams exchanged baskets until the 10-minute mark when LaRoche took their first lead of the half with four straight at 70-68.
The LaRoche lead only lasted one possession as Norris hit a three to quickly put Pitt-Bradford back in front. Following an exchange of free throws, Yarbrough completed a three-point play and Butler made two from the line to restore the 5-point Panther advantage. The Redhawks chipped away at the Panther advantage and cut it to 2-points with 3 minutes left. Yarbrough answered with a layup and after a timeout, the Panthers locked down defensively and extended their lead to 8 with two Butler free throws and another Yarbrough layup.
La Roche made one final push, scoring 6 in a row to get the deficit back to two points, but a clutch three from Braylen Salters and two Keshon Kittrell layups pushed the score to 99-92 with a minute remaining. To close the game, Pitt-Bradford made 6 straight free throws, 4 from Norris and 2 from Butler, leading to a 105-94 final.
Jamarion Butler capped off an outstanding week, leading all scorers with 31 points. He also tallied 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and a block. Butler made 9-16 from the field and 12-15 from the line. Rodd Yarbrough had an efficient afternoon, making 7 of 11 from the field and 8-9 from the charity stripe to finish with 23 points. Xander Norris also reached double-figures, scoring 11 points off the bench.
The win moves the Panthers to 10-1 on the season, with a 3-0 mark in AMCC play. They will return home to host Carlow as part of a midweek doubleheader next Wednesday. They will take on the Celtics at 5:00 p.m. in KOA Arena and will be followed by a women's game at 7:15.
