Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's basketball team played their second game at the Ron Linhart Memorial Classic on Saturday, falling to Wisconsin-Whitewater 86-74.
Both teams locked down on defense to begin the game, but the Panthers were able to take an early 6-5 lead as Phillip Wallace matched a Warhawk three early on and Lennon Lindholm hit one of his own 4 minutes in. The Panthers stayed with the Warhawks for the next six minutes as Lindholm hit another long ball and Nathan Schneider and B.J. Williams each made baskets inside to keep the game tied at 15 after 10 minutes of play. Wisconsin-Whitewater scored 5 quick points to jump ahead, but Wallace and Caden Beldin hit a three each to keep the Warhawks within reach. Unfortunately, Wisconsin Whitewater answered those three with 5 more to stay ahead of the Panthers. The Warhawks hit a three-pointer with 6 minutes left to push their advantage to 8 points, but Wallace and Schneider made layups to cut the deficit to 4. Wallace made two more from beyond the arc to put the Panthers down 3 with 3 to go in the half, but Wisconsin Whitewater outscored Pitt-Bradford 9-1 down the stretch to take a 45-34 lead to halftime.
The Warhawks continued their rally after the break, as they scored on their opening possession of the second half. Caden Beldin made a putback layup to get the Panthers started in the half, but Wisconsin-Whitewater made a layup and then a fast-break dunk to push their lead to 15. They were able to keep their advantage around 15 points for the first 7-minutes of the half before Nathan Schneider took over for Pitt-Bradford to try and get them back in the game. Schneider scored 13 straight for the Panthers, getting the lead down to 11 points at one point, but saw the opponents respond to maintain their lead. They kept their lead between 15 and 20 points until Lindholm hit a last-second three to get the game to its final 12-point margin.
Nathan Schneider and Phillip Wallace both finished with 21 points for the Panthers. Wallace did his damage in the first half, scoring 19 points in the period, while Schneider closed strong, scoring 17 of his 21 in the 2nd. Schneider recorded his second double-double of the season as he finished with 11 rebounds. He also tallied 4 assists. Wallace pulled in 7 rebounds. Lennon Lindholm scored 12 points on 4-9 shooting, while Caden Beldin added 11. Schneider was named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 18.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game.
The Panthers fall to 1-2 on the season after their loss. They will look to get back on track in their midweek matchup, as they travel to Hiram for a non-conference match on Wednesday, November 16th. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
