Bradford, PA -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford hosted undefeated Pitt-Greensburg on Saturday afternoon, looking to pick up a crucial AMCC victory. The Panthers led for the majority of the second half, but fell behind late and could not make a shot at he buzzer to win the game, ultimately falling 89-88.
The Panthers started quickly, answering an opening Pitt-Greensburg free throw with a Maki Hill layup and a Xander Norris three. Tra Edwards answered a Bobcat jumper with one of his own, but the visitors went on a 6-1 run to take a 9-8 lead. Clarence Cobbins got the Panthers back on the board with a three-point play; however, the Bobcats answered with one of their own, and then added a midrange jumper. Trailing 18-14, Cobbins threw down a dunk, and then, after a Jeremy Rodriguez free throw, Hill scored 5 straight to put the Panthers up 4.
Pitt-Greensburg quickly tied the game at 22 before the teams exchanged short runs, but remained tied at 33. After the visitors went ahead with a free throw and a layup, Niare Poplar made a putback layup and a three on consecutive possessions to restore the Panther lead. The Bobcats answered with four quick points and then remained in front with a layup after two Cobbins free throws. In the last minute of the half, Samuel Brown converted a three-point play and then blocked a shot on the ensuing defensive possession. Norris found Hill open in the corner, and the freshman guard drilled a three at the buzzer to send the game to the break with the Panthers ahead 46-42.
Tra Edwards got the second half started with a three from the wing. After the Bobcats answered with a layup and two free throws, Jeremy Rodriguez threw down a fast break dunk to put the Panthers ahead by 5. The visitors once again cut the lead to two, but a pair of Tommy Walton free throws and a Norris three kept the Panthers ahead. Following layups by Hill and Kaleb Pryor, and a two-for-one exchange by the Bobcats, Cobbins and David Ramos each made baskets inside to extend the lead to 10.
The Panthers were able to maintain the advantage for the next three minutes, but with 10 mintues to go, the visitors began to chip away. They trimmed the lead to 5 after a fast break layup with 7 minutes on the board, but Pryor hit a clutch three to restore the 8-point Panther edge. A pair of Rodriguez free throws put Pitt-Bradford up 79-70; however, the Bobcats went on a 10-2 run to trim the lead to 1. Poplar threw down a dunk, and Cobbins added a layup to keep the Panther lead at three, but Pitt-Greensburg scored 5 points in 30 seconds to take their first lead of the half. They went ahead by 4 after a layup with 36 seconds left, but Norris quickly hit a clutch three to cut the deficit to one point. After a few timeouts, the Bobcats broke the Panther press, but missed a layup, giving Pitt-Bradford a chance to win the game. Rodriguez tried to hit a pull-up jumper, but his effort hit the front rim and bounced away. Hill was able to pick up the loose ball for a rebound, but had it knocked away as time ran out.
Maki Hill led Pitt-Bradford with 15 points. He made 6-12 from the field and made three from beyond the arc. Clarence Cobbins registered a double-double, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Jeremy Rodriguez and Xander Norris each hit double figures, scoring 13 and 12 points, respectively. Tommy Walton chipped in 7 points and grabbed 9 rebounds.
The loss drops Pitt-Bradford to 5-3 on the season, with a 0-2 mark in conference play. They will return to action on Saturday, Dec. 13th, when they host LaRoche at 4:00 p.m. in KOA Arena.
