Trailing nearly the whole game, Pitt-Bradford scratched and clawed its way back against Juniata in its home-opener Saturday.
One free throw was all it took for the comeback to come crashing down, however.
Justin Fleming made the first of two free throws after getting fouled away from the ball by Keith Burgess with 9.3 seconds to play and Pitt-Bradford, without any timeouts, turned the ball over after getting the rebound on the miss, resulting in a 69-66 victory for the visiting squad after two free throws with 1.5 seconds to play.
“We just didn’t have it today, plain and simple,” said Pitt-Bradford coach Britt Moore. “Juniata played harder than us and executed better than us. We were able to somehow get it to a tie game and then we fouled and threw the ball away. We really didn’t deserve to win this game at all.”
Despite looking flat offensively for much of the game, the Panthers (1-2) did have a chance late.
After going 1-for-14 on 3’s in the first 38 minutes, Zach Smith and Eric Matheson, who finished with a team-high 19 points, connected on back-to-back possessions, the latter of which came with 1:27 remaining, cutting the deficit to two, 68-66.
After getting a stop, the Panthers tied the game on their next offensive possession, as Matheson drove and dished to Hiree Peoples, who knocked down a baseline jumper with 28 seconds to go, making it 66-66.
That was the last shot the Panthers would get off, however, as Matheson, after collecting the rebound on the missed free throw, was unable to find an open man after penetrating.
“I don’t think so,” Moore said when asked if the lack of a timeout hurt his team in the final seconds. “We’re pretty good under stress. It’s not like I would have told them don’t throw the ball away. It’s just a bad decision at a very bad time.”
It was a shame for Matheson, as he, as well as Keith Burgess, were able to keep the Panthers close with their ability to drive and get to the free throw line.
The duo was 18-of-19 from the charity stripe — 11-of-11 from Matheson and 7-of-8 from Burgess.
“I think both Eric and Keith Burgess do a very nice job of getting to the line,” noted Moore. “Between the two of them, they both have the ability to get there and shoot a high percentage.”
They needed every single one of them, as Juniata (3-1) freshman forward Marcus Lee scored a career-high 26 points.
The 6-6 Bishop Carroll product shot 11-of-15 from the floor and scored 17 of his points in the second half, as the Eagles made it an emphasis to get him plenty of touches on the low block.
“I don’t know if it was their game plan or when he was kicking our butt they decided to make it their game plan,” Moore said. “He’s a nice player.”
The Panthers led the game briefly, 7-6, after a lay-up by Burgess with 15:40 to go in the first half, but that was the last time they had the lead the entire game.
Juniata was never able to completely put the game out of reach, however, as the lead never got to double figures.
Apart from Burgess and Matheson, the Panthers were able to stay close in large part because of the 19 turnovers they forced.
They committed just nine themselves and their full-court press forced some mistakes from the Eagles, who otherwise executed well offensively, shooting 57 percent (24-of-42) from the floor.
“I think the full-court was when we were at our best causing turnovers,” Moore said. “It wasn’t our game plan going in. Our half-court could have been better. We got caught chasing guys around screens, got caught in the post and couldn’t guard Lee.”
Conversely, Pitt-Bradford struggled to make shots, shooting 38.9 percent from the floor.
“They did a nice job clogging up the lane,” Moore said. “We were stagnant and settled for quick shots and bad shots. I thought we had a couple of good looks in the first half and they just didn’t go down. It’s one of those things where one or two don’t go down and things kind of build.”
An 18-11 spurt by the Eagles, capped by a pair of free throws by Lee, made the lead nine at 52-43.
Every time it looked as if UPB was going to rally, Juniata would go on a run, as the lead grew to nine again, 59-50, before the Panthers surge in the final three minutes to tie the game.
Matheson was 4-for-4 from the line during the final 4:17 and Burgess came up with a key steal and easy lay-in that cut the lead to 61-58.
The Panthers now look to regroup, as they take a road trip to Alfred State Tuesday.
The two teams have already met once in the early going, a 70-45 Pitt-Bradford win in the Rutgers-Newark Tournament.
“I’m sure they’ll give us a different look the second time around,” Moore said. “This is not where we thought we’d be or want to be. I think we have the pieces to come back and do what we need to do in practice and have a good performance Tuesday.”
NOTES: Pitt-Bradford was without three regulars — senior forward Tyler Fantaskey, sophomore guard Manny Welch and freshman guard Tim Atkinson as the result of an incident in their last game against Rutgers-Newark in which Fantaskey was assessed a flagrant 2 … Smith and Forrest Works led Pitt-Bradford with seven rebounds each … Smith and Matheson dished out four assists each … The 38.9 percent shooting was a season-low for the Panthers
Juniata (69)
Lee 11-4-7-26, Koehler 2-3-4-7, Ogle 2-0-0-4, Brewer 2-0-1-5, Fleming 4-7-9-15, Smith 0-0-0-0, Walker 1-1-1-3, Naccarato 0-2-2-2, Fisher 0-0-0-0, Clune 1-0-0-3, Graytok 1-2-3-4, Totals 24-19-27-69
Pitt-Bradford (66)
Matheson 3-11-11-19, Owens 2-0-0-4, Peoples 6-0-0-12, Smith 2-0-1-5, Pichette 3-3-7-9, Burgess 5-7-8-17, Works 0-0-2-0, Totals 21-21-29-66
Halftime — Juniata 28-27. 3-point FGs — Juniata 2-5 (Brewer 1-1, Clune 1-1, Ogle 0-1, Smith 0-1, Walker 0-1), Pitt-Bradford 3-16 (Smith 1-6, Matheson 2-4, Owens 0-4, Burgess 0-2). Fouled Out — Smith (Pitt-Bradford). Rebounds — Juniata 28 (Ogle 6), Pitt-Bradford 31 (Smith, Works 7). Assists — Juniata 6 (Brewer 2), Pitt-Bradford 9 (Smith, Matheson 4). Total Fouls — Juniata 21, Pitt-Bradford 19
