ALFRED, N.Y. — Behind a career-high 21 points from sophomore forward Zach Smith (Smethport, Pa.) the Pitt-Bradford men’s basketball team defeated Alfred State 56-49 Tuesday.
The win was the second of the season for the now 2-2 Panthers, as they beat the same Alfred State squad Nov. 15 in the Rutgers-Newark tournament to open the season.
It was a sluggish start for Pitt-Bradford, as they trailed 18-17 at the half, but a 12-2 run in the second half, capped by a pair of free throws from Eric Matheson, gave them their biggest lead of the game, 48-34 with 4:11 remaining.
Matheson, the Panthers’ leading scorer on the young season, finished with 17 points.
For Smith, Tuesday’s performance followed up a rough outing over the weekend against Juniata in which he shot 2-for-9.
It was a different story against the Pioneers, however, as he connected on 8-of-14 from the floor and 4-of-7 from the foul line en route to his 21-point performance.
Overall, it wasn’t a great shooting night for the Panthers, as they connected on just 29.5 percent (18-of-61) from the floor.
They made up for that with a defensive effort that forced 24 Pioneer turnovers.
Tommy Hutson was the only Alfred State (0-5) player to score in double figures, finishing with 11 points.
The Panthers return to action Dec. 3 at Houghton (7 p.m.).
Pitt-Bradford (56)
Matheson 3-10 9-14 16, Burgess 2-9 1-2 5, Peoples 0-4 0-0 , Smith 8-14 4-7 21, Pichette 0-3 0-0 0, Fantaskey 2-8 0-0 5, Works 1-4 1-1 3, Owens 0-3 0-0 0, Welch 1-2 2-2 4, Atkinson 1-2 0-1 2, Klenke 0-1 0-0 0, Goss 0-1 0-0 0, Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 18-61 17-27 56
Alfred State (49)
Wallace 1-7 0-1 2, Hutson 4-9 3-8 11, Williams 1-4 0-0 2, Fezza 3-8 2-5 9, Elliott 2-6 5-6 9, Luckman 1-2 0-0 3, Bard 2-3 0-0 6, Adams 1-2 0-1 2, Ingram 1-3 0-0 2, Perry 0-2 0-0 0, Gormley 1-4 0-0 3, Totals 17-50 10-21 49
Halftime — Alfred State 18-17. 3-point FGs — Pitt-Bradford 3-21 (Smith 1-6, Fantaskey 1-5, Matheson 1-4, Burgess 0-2, Goss 0-1, Owens 0-1, Welch 0-1, Klenke 0-1), Alfred State 5-16 (Bard 2-2, Gormley 1-3, Fezza 1-3, Luckman 1-2, Hutson 0-2, Williams 0-2, Wallace 0-1, Ingram 0-1). Fouled Out — Burgess (Pitt-Bradford). Rebounds — Pitt Bradford 40 (Peoples 9), Alfred State 48 (Fezza 11. Assists — Pitt-Bradford 7 (Smith 3), Alfred State10 (Elliott 3). Total Fouls — Pitt-Bradford 20, Alfred State 19
