Greensburg, PA. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's basketball team headed to Greensburg on Saturday fresh off clinching their first conference regular season title since 2001-02 in the midweek matchup. The Panthers took on 2nd seeded Pitt-Greensburg, and despite deepening the rotation in the game, could not hold on to a 3-point lead in the last minute, falling 90-88.
Pitt-Bradford started slow and was not able to score for the first 4 minutes of the game. In the span, the hosts scored 7 points to open up an early lead. Xander Norris finally got the Panthers on the board, making a three from the wing. Coby Farley answered a Pitt-Greensburg jumper with one of his own and then after another short two, Logan Joncas and Norris made back-to-back threes to tie the game at 11. The Panthers took their first lead of the game on a Tra Edwards midrange jumper and then went ahead by five on a three from Rodriguez and two Edwards free throws.
Midway through the first, Jesse Laster made consecutive layups to give Pitt-Bradford a 24-17 lead, but the hosts rallied with 7 quick points to tie the game back up at 24. Rodd Yarbrough and Joncas made baskets inside to put the Panthers back in front, but Pitt-Bradford was unable to open up a large lead, as the Bobcats continued to answer and stay within one or two possessions. The Panthers extended their advantage to 6-points when Farley and Tommy Walton made consecutive baskets, however, the hosts closed the half on an 8-2 run to send the game to the break tied at 38.
The Panthers came out of the locker room firing and scored 7 unanswered points in just over a minute. Keshon Kittrell started the rally, and then Rodriguez and Jamarion Buyler added layups on the next two possessions. The Bobcats trimmed the lead to two, but a Chris Martin three and a short jumper from Kittrell kept the Panthers in front. Pitt-Bradford hit another cold stretch after the Kittrell bucket and were kept off the board for the next 4 minutes, allowing the hosts to erase the lead and take a 1-point lead. Rodriguez drove to the basket to end the run with a layup, but the Bobcats continued to add to their lead, answering with a three-point play to go ahead 54-52 with 11:31 remaining.
Kittrell scored 4 straight to give Pitt-Bradford a short-lived lead as the Hosts answered with 5 straight of their own before a Rodriguez three evened the score at 59. The next few minutes saw the Bobcats take multiple leads, but the Panthers quickly answered. Walton made a short jumper, Farley sank a three and Yarbrough converted an old-fashioned three-point play to tie the game three times in two minutes. Pitt-Bradford finally went back in front when Norris and Joncas made threes on consecutive possessions.
The roles reversed for three minutes, and each time the Bobcats scored to cut into the Panther lead, Pitt-Bradford would respond with a three to stay ahead. A Farley three put the Panthers up 5 with 3:19 remaining, but the Bobcats answered with two long balls of their own to quickly erase the deficit and go ahead 84-83. Farley made a floating jump shot to flip the lead, but the Bobcats answered by converting two free throws on the next possession. After the free throws, Farley hit a huge shot, pulling up from the right wing for three to put the Panthers up 88-86 with just over a minute left.
Following a timeout, the hosts beat the Pitt-Bradford press with a long inbound pass, tying the game with a fast-break layup. On the ensuing possession, Jamarion Butler attempted a fall-away jumper at the elbow, but missed, and the Bobcats gathered the rebound. The hosts ran the shot clock down and made a tough jumper through contact with 11 seconds remaining. The Pitt-Greensburg shooter missed the free throw, which was rebounded by Butler. With time winding down, Butler gave the ball way and then set a screen, however, the ball never got back to him as Farley lost possession and the Bobcats ran out the clock to end the game.
Jeremy Rodriguez led the Panthers with 16 points, making 6-11 from the field and 4-5 from three. Coby Farley added 15 points off the bench, while Xander Norris didn't miss, making 4 shots, including 3 threes, to score 11. Jamarion Butler had 4 points but dished out 6 assists. Jesse Laster led the rebounding effort with 9, including 5 don't the offensive end.
The Panthers finish the regular season with a 21-3 record, including a 14-2 mark in AMCC play. Despite the loss, they have earned the #1 seed in the AMCC Tournament. Pitt-Bradford has the corresponding 1st-round bye and will host the semifinal and final round of the tournament in KOA Arena. They will be back in action on Friday, February 28th, when they host the winner of the 4/5 game between Penn State-Behrend and LaRoche. Tipoff is slated foe 6:00 p.m.
