Men’s Basketball suffers slow second half against Pitt Bradford

PITTSBURGH --- Carlow University men's basketball lost an 89-71 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference contest to Pitt Bradford at Donahue Pavilion Saturday.

The loss dropped the Celtics (3-10 overall) to 1-5 in league action, while the Panthers (9-4 overall) improved to 5-1.

Galen Waters and Oscar Contreras recorded all six of Carlow's treys on the night, leading the Celtics with 17 and 15 points, respectively. Riley Comforti added a double-double effort of 10 points and 10 boards, and Byron Gaskins contributed 11 points in the effort. Nehemiah Brazil dished out six assists and picked up four steals.

The first half saw both teams in a battle for the lead, tying the score several times throughout.

Contreras came off the bench midway through the half, landing two treys and a pull up jumper to tie the game, 18-18.

The Panthers gained an advantage, but an and-one layup from Clayton Cook brought Carlow to within three points of tying the score once again. Waters hit back-to-back jumpers to put the Celtics within one, but two three-pointers from Pitt Bradford gave the Panthers a seven-point lead.

Waters hit a trey and Brazil landed a last-second layup that saw Pitt Bradford with a marginal 39-35 advantage heading into halftime.

The Celtics kept close to the Panthers throughout the beginning of the second half, but things began to unravel midway through.

A Pitt Bradford three-pointer set off a 19-4 run that spanned over five minutes, giving the Panthers a 20-point lead with just four minutes remaining in regulation. Despite their best efforts, Carlow was unable to recover from the deficit.

Pitt Bradford shot 50.8 percent (32 for 63) from the field, landing nine three-pointers, and the Celtics shot 75 percent (15 for 20) from the foul line on the evening.

The Celtics forced 25 Pitt Bradford turnovers resulting in 21 points, while the Panthers out-rebounded Carlow, 53-35, and outscored the Celtics 34-26 off the bench.

Jamarion Butler scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Panthers, and four other players contributed double-digit points.

The Celtics hit the road for an AMCC matchup against Penn State Altoona Jan. 10.