The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's basketball team opened up conference play on Wednesday evening, hosting Hilbert at KOA Arena. The Panthers started slow and were never able to recover fully, falling to the Hawks 99-84.
The Panthers looked to keep up with the Hawks at the start as Jeremy Rodriguez answered an early Hilbert basket, but the Panthers failed to find their range for the next 7 minutes as play. The Panthers were limited to just two more points, a Niare Poplar layup, while the visitors scored 21 points in the same stretch. Pitt-Bradford finally broke the dry spell with 12 minutes left in the half when Poplar hit a three and then fed Kaleb Pryor on the break for a layup.
The Panthers began to cut into the lead with 6 straight from Rodriguez, who converted a three-point play and then hit from beyond the arc, and then reduced the deficit to 14 after another Poplar long ball. Following two free throws, Pryor scored four points in a matter of seconds, making a layup and then converting a steal in the back court for another field goal. After a pair of defensive stops, Clarence Cobbins tipped in a put-back to cut the deficit to 10. Hilbert found a quick response, scoring 10 of the next 13 points to extend their advantage back to 17. The Panthes got a few more field goals from Rodriguez, Tra Edwards, Xander Norris, and Tommy Walton, but still trailed 54-39 at halftime.
Hilbert continued adding to their lead after the break, as they scored 8 of the first 10 points of the 2nd half. Walton, Maki Hill made baskets to keep the deficit at 20, while Norris answered a pair of Hilbert baskets with a midrange jumper and a three. Hill made consecutive layups to begin a Panther comeback, and then, following a Hawk free throw, Rodriguez and Norris each made layups to trim the deficit to 16 with 9 minutes remaining.
Coby Farley scored 11 of the next 12 Panther points as Pitt-Bradford kept the Hilbert lead stagnant and trailed by 14 with two minutes to go. Norris and Rodriguez each made a pair from the line to put the Panthers down 11, but Pitt-Bradford was unable to convert late, while Hilbert added a late layup and two from the charity stripe, finishing the game with a 99-84 win.
Jeremy Rodriguez led the Panthers with 23 points. He made 8-16 from the field, including 3-6 from three and 4-4 from the line. He also tallied 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocked shots. Coby Farley added 13 points, while Xander Norris finished with 11. Niare Poplar scored 10 off the bench, while Kaleb Pryor and Maki Hill each finished with 9.
The Panthers are now 5-2 on the year with a 0-1 mark in AMCC play. They will face another stiff test on Saturday, as they will host the league leaders, Pitt-Greensburg. Tipoff is slated for approximately 4:00 p.m., or 25 minutes after the completion of the women's game.
