The Pitt-Bradford men's basketball team held off a furious rally by the Pitt-Greensburg Bobcats on its way to a 65-62 victory on Saturday, Feb. 1. Freshman Zach Smith drained a three-point shot with less than a minute to play that broke the tie and gave the Panthers the win.

Junior Keith Burgess was the leading scorer for the Panthers, finishing with 15 points, one rebound and one assist. Junior Lucas Pichette was close behind, registering 13 points, nine rebounds and one assist, falling one rebound shy of the double-double. Junior Tyler Fantaskey rounded out the top scorers with 11 points and four rebounds.

Pitt-Bradford (11-8, 7-4) seemed in control from the opening tip. The Panthers' used a triple from senior Brandon McClester to get on the board just seconds into the game.

With nearly seven minutes gone in the first period, the Bobcats grabbed their first lead of the game with a triple of their own from Mike Connelly. The Panthers quickly responded with another three from Fantaskey at the top of the arc.

The two squads swapped possession of the lead over the next several minutes. This time it was Burgess who connected from just outside the arc to give the Panthers a 20-17 advantage. Pitt-Bradford held the lead for the remainder of the first half.

With 6:06 remaining until halftime, the Panthers went on a 15-point run that lasted until 1:34 was showing on the clock. The two teams headed into the break with Pitt-Bradford leading 35-25.

The Panthers shot 39.4 percent from the field in the first half, including 50 percent from behind the arc. They were 3-of-4 from the line.

Pitt-Greensburg shot 30 percent from the floor in the first period, including 21.4 percent from outside the arc. The Bobcats were 4-of-5 from the charity stripe.

Pitt-Greensburg (9-10, 7-5) hit the floor running to begin the second half. The Bobcats immediately cut into the Panthers' lead, scoring the first points with a layup from Brian Heinle.

 Pitt-Bradford was able to keep its momentum offensively, as it continued to match the Bobcats bucket-for-bucket. The Panthers maintained a significant lead after nearly 10 minutes of play.

At that time, the Bobcats began their surge down the court and quickly erased the Panthers' advantage. Pitt-Greensburg picked up the pace of its attack and used several missed opportunities by the Panthers as a way to continue chipping away at Pitt-Bradford's lead.

With 1:29 left to play, the two teams were knotted at 62 points each. Both squads had turnovers that ended scoring opportunities.

With just 19 seconds left in the game, Pitt-Greensburg's Jarrett Shannon turned the ball over to Smith, who made his way down the court. Stopping just outside the arc, Smith fired a triple at the rim that saw nothing but net.

Pitt-Greensburg's Heinle went for a three-point shot of his own with two seconds left, but McClester blocked the shot and snagged the rebound to seal the victory.

"We found a way to get a much needed home win," said head coach Britt Moore. "We struggled to close the game out down the stretch and Greensburg made some great plays. Zach Smith hit a huge three to win that game."

For the game, Pitt-Bradford shot 41.4 percent from the field, including 38.1 percent from behind the arc. The Panthers were a solid 9-of-11 from the line.

Pitt-Greensburg finished the afternoon shooting 36.9 percent, including 23.1 percent from three. The Bobcats were 8-of-9 from the charity stripe.

Pitt-Bradford returns to the KOA Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 5, as D'Youville heads to town for a 6 p.m. tipoff.