Pitt-Bradford’s Eric Matheson dove after a loose ball, controlled it between his legs and passed it ahead to backcourt mate Keith Burgess for an easy layup.
That play gave the Panthers a 55-41 lead and signified their effort Saturday in a 64-58 win over Penn State-Altoona at the KOA Arena.
Up two, 32-30 at halftime, the Panthers (11-10 overall) went on a 28-11 run to help snap a three-game losing streak.
“The defensive end,” Pitt-Bradford coach Britt Moore said of why his team was able to pull away in the second half. “We’re not an elite one-on-one defensive team. We have some guys that can really guard and some guys struggle. We just have to do it as a group.”
It started, as it usually does for UPB, with Burgess and Matheson. The duo scored 16 and 15 points respectively — the only two Panthers to reach double figures, as they swept the season series from the Lions.
Burgess scored the first four points of the second half and Matheson’s three-ball made it 46-36, a double-digit lead the Panthers wouldn’t relinquish until the game was already in hand late.
Moore spoke of the defense, which came up big, especially in the full-court press. The Panthers didn’t show the look often, but when they did it led to steals and easy points on the offensive end.
“I thought that kind of turned the tide,” Moore said. “We got it going in our favor and got some easy points out of it.”
The lead stretched to as many as 17, 60-43, after a layup by Hiree Peoples with 4:05 to play before Altoona got some late points in garbage time.
It’s a margin most could have foreseen following a quick 14-0 start to the game for UPB, capped by a triple from Manny Welch, forcing Altoona to burn a timeout.
That wasn’t the case, however, as the Panthers were unable to pull away early and the Lions steadily chipped away at the deficit.
“There is human nature when you’re 19 to 22 year olds and it’s going well,” Moore said. “It’s a league game, though and you have to go and get it. They all count the same.”
Buckets by Zach Smith and Burgess swelled the lead to 12, 30-18, but the Lions closed the half on a 12-2 spurt to get back within two.
Burgess and Matheson led the way, but the Panthers, as per usual, got contributions across the board, as nine different players made their way into the scoring column.
They were also able to take advantage of 19 Altoona turnovers.
It was a much needed win, as the 0-3 road trip to three of the top four teams in the AMCC standings had the Panthers reeling.
“We discussed it,” Moore said of the importance of the game. “We were in a position to win two of those game when we were up at the half, but we didn’t. We didn’t lose a ton of ground in the standings, but this is one on our home court against a team below us in the standings that we needed to win and we were able to do that.”
Next up for Pitt-Bradford is D’Youville at home Wednesday.
“We’re going to try and get on a roll,” Moore said. “We have to get better on the defensive end. Even though it’s late in the season, guys are still figuring out their roles.”
PENN STATE-ALTOONA (58)
Hines 3-5 0-0 8, Charles 2-11 0-0 5, McCloud 1-1 0-0 2, Wilson 3-9 2-2 9, Fulare 3-5 1-1 7, Olan 4-7 4-5 13, Lucas 3-7 2-2 8, Luhr 1-2 1-2 3, Kleya 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 1-8 1-2 3, Totals 21-55 11-14 58
PITT-BRADFORD (64)
Matheson 3-9 7-9 15, Burgess 7-12 2-2 16, Owens 1-3 0-2 2, Smith 3-8 0-0 7, Pichette 3-5 0-2 7, Fantaskey 2-8 0-0 6, Welch 1-2 2-4 5, Peoples 2-2 1-2 5, Works 0-0 0-0 0, Atkinson 0-0 0-0 0, Goss 0-1 0-0 0, Jackson 1-1 0-0 2, Klenke 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 23-51 12-21 64
Halftime: Pitt-Bradford 32-32
Three-point FGs — PSU Altoona (5) — Hines 2, Charles, Wilson, Olan, Pitt-Bradford (6) — Fantaskey 2, Matheson 2, Welch, Smith; Fouled Out — Charles; Rebounds — PSU Altoona 36 (Smith, Luhr, Lucas 5), Pitt-Bradford 32 (Smith 6); Assists — PSU Altoona 5 (McCloud 2), Pitt-Bradford 13 (Matheson 5); Total Fouls — PSU Altoona 17, Pitt-Bradford 17
