The Pitt-Bradford men's basketball team held off a fierce rally by the visiting Mount Aloysius Mounties for an 84-78 victory in front of a packed house and hostile environment on Saturday, Feb. 15. Senior Brandon McClester was honored on Senior Day during a pre-game ceremony for taking part in his final home game as a Panther.

Junior Lucas Pichette registered a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds in a solid effort in the paint. Junior Keith Burgess led all Panthers in scoring with 19 points, seven rebounds and two assists. Sophomore Eric Matheson was close behind with 17 points, six rebounds and three assists. Freshman Zach Smith rounded out the top performers with 13 points, seven rebounds and one assist.

Pitt-Bradford (14-9, 10-6) came roaring out of the gates to begin the contest. The Mounties may have found the scoreboard first, but the Panthers sprinted to a seven-point run shortly after.

The Mounties found the bucked on a quick layup from Tanner Thomas, but it was the Panthers again that went on yet another seven-point run. With that, Pitt-Bradford held a 14-4 advantage just over six minutes into the game.

The Mounties made an attempt to close the gap midway through the first half but were unsuccessful. With the score 14-11 in favor of the Panthers, Burgess headed to the line and connected on back-to-back free-throw attempts to start a nine-point run.

With under nine minutes to play, the Mounties fired several successful shots in a row to start to close the gap, but McClester was there to connect on a short jumper in the paint to make the score 22-15 with 8:13 to go.

Mount Aloysius (10-12, 7-9) was never able to successfully cut the deficit in the first period. Each time the Mounties found success at the rim, Pitt-Bradford was there to find the bucket as well and maintain a solid lead.

With just 33 seconds to go before the break, Pichette connected on a jump shot that banked in off the glass and sent the Panthers to the locker room with a 39-29 lead over the visitors.

For the first half, Pitt-Bradford shot 32.5 percent and connected on just one triple attempt. The Panthers were a solid 12 of 13 from the line.

Mount Aloysius shot 31 percent from the floor, including 20 percent from three. The Mounties were nine of 13 from the line.

As the two teams hit the floor for the start of the second period, it was the Mounties who again found the scoreboard first. Burgess drained a triple moments later to erase the bucket and propel the Panthers to an 11-point lead early in the second half.

Midway through the period, Pitt-Bradford held an 18-point advantage and seemed to be in control. That's when the Mounties began their comeback attempt.

With 4:11 showing on the clock, the Panthers' lead slowly began to dwindle. Mount Aloysius began chipping away at the lead with bucket after bucket. The final minute of the game turned into a fouling effort for the Mounties.

Burgess went four for six in the final 60 seconds at the line. Matheson connected on both free throws and Smith sank both shots at the line with seven seconds to play to ice the game and give the Panthers the victory, despite the surge of points for the Mounties at the end of regulation.

"We talked all week about how our team defense needed to continue to get better," said head coach Britt Moore. "I think we really responded. They have a few players who can really score the ball and we made them take contested shots all afternoon."

Pitt-Bradford finished the game shooting 39.1 percent from the floor and connected on just three triples. The Panthers were 27 of 34 from the charity stripe.

Mount Aloysius shot 39.7 percent from the field, including 30 percent from behind the arc. The Mounties were 18 of 24 from the line.

The Panthers prepare to hit the road for their final contests of the 2013-14 regular season slate. Pitt-Bradford is in action at Medaille on Wednesday, Feb. 19, with tipoff set for 6 p.m.