The Pitt-Bradford men's basketball team dropped a 72-69 heartbreaking decision to the Hilbert Hawks on Wednesday, Feb. 12. The Hawks entered the contest as the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference's number one ranked team. The Panthers gave them all they could handle from the opening tip.
Junior Keith Burgess led the way for the Panthers with 23 points, five rebounds and four assists. Sophomore Eric Matheson finished as the team's second leading scorer with 14 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Junior Lucas Pichette registered eight points to go with 11 rebounds from his low-post position. He tacked on one assist for the night.
Pitt-Bradford (13-9, 9-6) entered the game with a surge of energy and an offensive explosion. Senior Brandon McClester got things started with a jump shot in the paint to put the Panthers on the board after a minute of play.
From that point, Pitt-Bradford went on a 12-point run to create the deficit barely five minutes into the action. The Panthers would create as much as a 14-point cushion moments later on a layup by Pichette.
The Hawks found their rhythm offensively shortly after and began their comeback. Pitt-Bradford went cold in the scoring department as it saw Hilbert bring the scoring total within one point, with seven minutes remaining until the break.
The Panthers found the bucket several times in a row to push back it lead to a six-point advantage on a layup by Burgess with two minutes remaining. Hilbert wasn't finished either though. The Hawks fought furiously to overtake the Panthers' lead and did just that with four ticks remaining.
On the ensuing possession, Pichette turned the ball over to Hilbert's Jalen Smith who drained a triple at the buzzer to send Hilbert to the locker room with a 34-30 lead.
Pitt-Bradford finished the first half shooting 45.5 percent from the floor and did attempt a triple. The Panthers did not make a trip to the line in the first twenty minutes.
The Hawks shot just 36.4 percent from the field, including 46.2 percent from three. They were 4-of-9 from the line.
Hilbert (19-3, 13-2) opened the second half with the same momentum it carried to the locker room. The Hawks put the first points on the board with a Jerame Owens' layup, and two minutes later opened up a nine-point lead.
With 13:20 remaining in the contest, Pitt-Bradford again trailed by nine points and seemed to be losing its edge. The Panthers quickly rebounded on a big three-point shot from freshman Zach Smith. The deficit was cut to one point with 9:49 remaining.
The Hawks' lead fluctuated over the next several minutes of play. The Panthers continued to pressure their lead, but each time they came close to overtaking it, a mistake seemed to be made.
When the clock reached two minutes left in the action, Pitt-Bradford trailed by one point. The game came down to the wire with the one-point deficit holding true with 27 seconds left. Smith gained possession of the ball with 13 seconds remaining, but quickly turned it over.
The game appeared to be out of reach, but Hilbert's Trevor Stark missed at the line giving the Panthers one more shot. Burgess stepped to the top of the arc with one second left on the clock and the ball rimmed out of the bucket, allowing Hilbert to escape with the three-point victory.
For the game, Pitt-Bradford shot 44.4 percent, including 27.3 percent from behind the arc. The Panthers were 10-of-12 from the line, all in the second half.
Hilbert finished the contest shooting 42.6 percent, including 47.4 percent from three after a slow start. The Hawks were 12-of-25 from the charity stripe.
The Panthers return to the KOA Arena on Saturday, Feb. 15, as they host Senior Day. The lone senior, McClester, will be honored before the game for his career achievements in the Blue and Gold. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.