Pittsburgh, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's basketball team hit the road on Saturday for an AMCC matchup at Carlow. The Panthers stopped a late Celtic comeback and won the game 109-97.
The Panthers started strong, scoring on their first two possessions through jumpers by Jamarion Butler and Braylen Salters. The hosts quickly tied the score and then answered another salters basket with a three to take a one-point lead. Jeremy Rodriguez blocked a shot, found Jesse Laster for a baseline dunk, and then made a layup to put the Panthers back ahead, but Carlow bounced back with four straight of their own. Following an exchange of free throws, Butler made a three-pointer, putting the Panthers ahead for good.
After a Carlow timeout, the Panthers slowly built a 6-point advantage but were unable to extend it. Carlow slowly chipped away at the lead, eventually cutting it to one point with 7:35 remaining in the half. Ahead by two a few minutes later, Xander Norris followed a Salters layup with two field goals to give the Panthers momentum. After his second, Laster intercepted a pass in the backcourt and slammed home a two-handed dunk to extend the lead to 10 points. Carlow staged a short comeback, scoring 5 straight to halve the Panther lead, but a Rodriguez layup was followed by a steal and dunk for Butler in the final minute to start an 8-1 run over the last 1:17 of the first. Salters added two free throws and Butler made one final layup to send the game to the break with Pitt-Bradford leading 54-44.
The Celtics started the 2nd half with back-to-back three-pointers to quickly trim the Panther advantage. After a Rodriguez three-point play was answered by another Carlow three, Rodd Yarbrough picked up a steal and converted it into a slam dunk, starting a 10-0 run for the Panthers. In addition to the dunk, Yarbrough added a putback layup in the rally while Salters, Laster, and Samuel Brown added buckets. Pitt-Bradford continued to add to their lead over the next five minutes, extending their advantage to as many as 18 points.
Norris made a long two to give the Panthers a 95-70 lead with 7:04 on the clock, however, the Panthers let off the gas after his jump shot, allowing the Celtics to go on an 11-0 run to trim the lead to five points. Pitt-Bradford stopped the rally as Norris assisted a LAster layup and then made a long three to restore the double-digit lead. The Panthers put the game away from the free throw line down the stretch making 7 of 10 from the stripe.
Jamarion Butler led all scorers with 26 points. He made 11-17 from the field and also grabbed 13 rebounds. Jesse Laster recorded his second consecutive double-double in the win finishing with 17 points and 10 rebounds. He also tallied 5 assists, 5 steals and a block. Braylen Salters added 15 points, making 5 of 6 from the field and the free throw line. Jeremy Rodriguez and Xander Norris also finished with 15 off the bench. Norris was 6 for 10, including 2-2 from three, and recorded 9 rebounds and 4 assists.
The victory moves the Panthers to 19-1 on the season, as they remain undefeated in AMCC play at 12-0. They will head to Alfred State for their midweek matchup, where a win paired with favorable results around the AMCC could result in the Panthers' first regular season title since the 2001-02 season. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. in Alfred State's Orvis Activities Center.
