Bradford, PA -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's basketball team hosted Geneva on Monday evening in KOA Arena. The Panthes jumped out to a 17-point halftime lead, and then withstood a few late charges from the Golden Tornadoes to win the contest 96-88.
The Panthers scored right off the tip, as Jeremy Rodriguez scooped up the loose ball and sprinted to the basket for a layup. Geneva found early success, scoring on four of their first five possessions, but the Panthers were able to stay with them with threes from Tra Edwards and Coby Farley. While the Geneva offense remained hot, the Panthers cooled and were outscored 8-2 in a 90-second span to fall behind. Following a mass substitution at the 14:37 mark, the Panthers locked down defensively and went on a run of their own, scoring the game's next 14 points. Farley stole the ball at the top of the key and found Rodriguez on the break to start the rally, and then hit back-to-back threes to put the Panthers in front. After a quick Geneva turnover, Rodriguez made two buckets inside around a Xander Norris midrange jumper to give Pitt-Bradford a 24-16 lead after 10 minutes of play.
Geneva responded with a run of their own, outscoring the Panthers 8-2 over the next 2 minutes of play to trim the advantage back to two points. Norris ended the run with a three from the top of the key, and then, following a pair of Golden Tornado free throws, Edwards made a layup and a three on consecutive possessions to restore the 8-point lead. Farley hit a deep three to start another Panther run that pushed the advantage into double digits. Clarence Cobbins made a layup and two free throws around a Niare Poplar three to give Pitt-Bradgord a 17-point edge. Tommy Walton added 4 points in the final minutes of the half to keep the Panther lead at 17 heading to the halftime break.
Pitt-Bradford struggled to regain its momentum as the second half began, allowing Geneva to open the 2nd with a 9-0 run. Rodriguez ended the rally after 3 and a half minutes with a three from the wing. The Panthers' lead bounced between 8 and 10 points over the next six minutes, as neither team strung together baskets and defensive stops. Edwards made two more longballs in the stretch, while Rodriguez and Walton each added a pair of baskets inside. Pitt-Bradford was finally able to extend its lead after the second Walton pull-up, as Maki Hill sank a three from the corner and Poplar added a putback layup.
With four minutes remaining, Rodriguez made a three, a pair of free throws, and a layup to give the Panthers their largest lead of the game at 91-71. The Panthers began to expand their rotation for the final minutes of the game, and Geneva began to chip away at the advantage. They scored 13 unanswered points to force a Panther timeout with 41 seconds remaining. With the lead trimmed back to 7 points, the Panthers brought the starting five back into the game to close out the win. Pitt-Bradford made 3 of 4 from the line in the final minute, but their efforts were answered with Geneva's layups. After a final layup put the Golden Tornadoes down 6, the Panthers beat the press with a long pass to Cobbins, who punctuated the victory with a slam dunk to end the game.
Jeremy Rodriguez led the Panthers with 28 points in the victory. He made 10-21 from the field and all 6 of his shots from the line. He also tallied 5 steals. Tra Edwards made 5-7 from the field and 4-5 from three to finish with 14 points, while Coby Farley made four threes in the first half to score 12. Clarence Cobbins and Niare Poplar each added 11 off the bench, while Poplar led the team with 6 rebounds.
The win moves the Panthers' record to 5-1 overall. They will return to action on Wednesday, December 3rd, when they kick off AMCC play with a matchup against Hilbert. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., or 25 minutes after the conclusion of the Women's game at 5.
