The Pitt-Bradford men's basketball team outscored Franciscan by 17 in the second half Sunday afternoon to turn a one-point halftime lead into a 62-44 win.

The Panthers, which led 20-19 at the break, hit just eight field goals in the opening half and missed all 10 of their three-point attempts. Franciscan kept the score close by connecting on three three-pointers and twice holding Pitt-Bradford without a field goal for nearly five minutes.

Holding onto a 27-25 lead in the second half, Brandon McClester sparked a 16-4 run that stretched the Panther lead to double-digits for the first time all day. McClester extended the lead to four with a layup and later scored on three straight possessions.

Pitt-Bradford eventually pushed its advantage to 20 on Keith Burgess' layup with 4:23 remaining as the Panthers emptied their bench in the game's final minutes.

Pitt-Bradford shot 52 percent in the second half and 42 percent overall. The Panthers finished just 3-20 from beyond the three-point line and 9-19 from the charity stripe. They scored 31 points off 25 Franciscan turnovers and dominated inside, outscoring the Barons by 14 in the paint.

McClester had a game-high 17 points on 8-11 shooting from the floor. He also pulled down a team-best seven rebounds. Burgess and Tyler Ferguson both had 10 points apiece, and Burgess accounted for five of the Panthers' 14 steals.

Pitt-Bradford improves to 7-5 on the season and 2-3 in the AMCC. The Panthers host Hilbert Wednesday at 8 p.m.