The Pitt-Bradford men's basketball team got off to a slow start, but used a surge of momentum just before halftime to defeat the visiting Spartans, 83-71, on Thursday, Feb. 6. Junior Keith Burgess led all scorers with 25 points, five rebounds and two assists.

Sophomore Eric Matheson racked up 18 points, four rebounds and six assists. Junior Lucas Pichette finished his night with 11 points and nine rebounds, falling one rebound shy of the double-double. Junior Tyler Fantaskey and senior Brandon McClester each tallied 10 points. Fantaskey added four rebounds and one assist, while McClester registered three rebounds and one assist.

Pitt-Bradford (12-8, 8-5) didn't have the explosive start it was looking for, but managed to come alive late in the first half. D'Youville's Julian Reed hit a triple to put the Spartans on the board first, after just 14 seconds of play.

Sloppy play, including turnovers and missed opportunities in the paint, plagued both teams for the first 10 minutes of play.

With eight minutes ticked off the clock, Burgess hit back-to-back free throw attempts that left the score at just nine points each. Minutes later, the Panthers found themselves six points behind and looking for an answer defensively to slow the Spartans' attack.

The answer did not come quickly. Another three minutes off the clock and the Panthers continued to trail, this time by six points with just under five minutes to play. Another pair of free throws by Burgess seemed to finally give the offense that spark.

Pitt-Bradford took its first lead with 2:08 remaining, after a three-point shot by Matheson. From that point on, it was all Panthers for the final two minutes. A few trips to the line and a short jumper by Matheson sent the home team to the locker room leading the Spartans 38-33.

Pitt-Bradford finished the first half shooting 34.4 percent from the field, including just 21.4 percent from behind the arc. The Panthers were a solid 13-of-14 from the line.

The Spartans shot 37 percent from the field, including 42.9 percent from three-point land. They were 10-of-15 from the charity stripe.

D'Youville (1-29, 1-13) used a spectacular performance from Julian Reed, who finished the night with 22 points and 10 rebounds. He completed the night's only double-double with his efforts.

A quick six-point run helped the Panthers establish some cushion early in the second period. With just seven minutes gone, Pitt-Bradford held a 17-point lead and didn't show any signs of losing that edge.

The Panthers were able to work their lead to as much as 21 points in the second half. Burgess was on fire at the line, finishing the night 9-of-10, to continue tacking the points on the board for the Panthers.

Pitt-Bradford had little trouble maintaining a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game, and as a result, was able to put it away with time left on the clock. A shot off the glass from Nick Goss provided the final points of the night for the Panthers as they moved to 12 wins on the season.

Head coach Britt Moore kept it short and sweet with his post-game comments. "We woke up late in the first half and did a better job attacking them from that point on," said Moore.

Pitt-Bradford finished the night shooting 40.9 percent from the floor, including 20 percent from behind the arc. The Panthers were 25-of-32 from the line.

D'Youville left the court shooting 38.2 percent from the floor, including 28.6 percent from behind the three-point line. The Spartans were 25-of-36 from the charity stripe.

Pitt-Bradford travels to Pittsburgh on Saturday, Feb. 8. The Panthers face La Roche in a road contest that will go a long way in determining post-season fates. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.