Cresson, Pa. – The Pitt-Bradford men's basketball team used a surge of points in the second half to outlast a late push from Mt. Aloysius and defeat the Mounties 108-101 in overtime on Saturday, Jan. 18.

The Panthers had a total of five player score in double figures during the contest, including a season-high, two players finish with 20-plus points. Sophomore Eric Matheson finished with a team-high and game-high 24 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Matheson missed the double-double by just one rebound.

Junior Lucas Pichette finished with 21 points, five rebounds and one assist. Senior Brandon McClester finished his afternoon with 17 points, eight rebounds and one assist as well. Junior Keith Burgess left the court with 15 points, three rebounds and two assists, while sophomore Colton Holzwarth capped his day with 10 points, four rebounds and one assist.

Pitt-Bradford (8-7, 4-4) wasted little time getting on the scoreboard to begin the game, marching out to an 11-point lead just over four minutes into the contest.

The Mounties responded by cutting that deficit to one point less than two minutes later, and the game became a battle from that point on.

Mount Aloysius was able to establish its own lead with less than 10 minutes remaining in the first half. The Panthers fought to keep it close but the attack from the Mounties proved too much at one point for Pitt-Bradford to handle and the lead escalated.

With 1:09 showing until halftime, the Mounties had built an 18-point lead and were threatening for more when a missed jumper gave the Panthers possession of the ball while the seconds were ticking away.

Unfortunately, the Panthers turned the ball over moments later, but the Mounties missed a short jumper with time to spare. With five seconds left, Matheson hit a jump shot to cut the deficit to 15 points. The two teams headed to the locker room with Mount Aloysius leading 47-32.

Pitt-Bradford finished the first half shooting 38.7 percent from the floor, including 33.3 percent from behind the arc. The Panthers were 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.

The Mounties shot 45.5 percent from the field, including 60 percent from behind the three-point line. They were 8-of-10 from the line.

Mount Aloysius (7-7, 4-4) began the second half holding on to its lead for the opening minutes.

The Panthers cut the deficit to two points with just over 12 minutes left in the game. A 59-59 tie with 11:12 left to play paved way for the Panthers to overtake the game moments later.

With nine minutes remaining, Pitt-Bradford took the lead and did not let up. The Panthers were able to keep the Mounties just out of reach of tying the game through several tries.

In the waning moments as the clock barely showed any signs of life, the Mounties in-bounded the ball out of a timeout and drained a three-point shot to tie the game with no time left. The two teams headed to overtime with the score 91-91.

Mount Aloysius briefly took the lead to begin the overtime period, but its lead didn't last long. The Panthers' offense came roaring down the court and established a lead it could maintain throughout the period. As a result, the Panthers sealed the victory after a tremendous second-half comeback.

"This was a great road win," said head coach Britt Moore. "We came out with good energy but slowed during the first half. We came out in the second half with a sense of urgency and cut the lead quickly. We stayed aggressive in OT and completed the game."

Pitt-Bradford shot 51.5 percent from the field for the game, including 44.4 percent from behind the arc. The Panthers were 30-of-36 from behind the line.

Mount Aloysius finished the game shooting 46.2 percent from the floor, including 46.2 percent from behind the three-point line. The Mounties finished 17-of-28 from the line.

The Panthers return to the floor on Monday, Jan. 20, when Medaille comes to the KOA Arena for a 6 p.m. tipoff.