Men’s Basketball goes toe-to-toe with AMCC-leading Panthers

PITTSBURGH --- Carlow University men's basketball gave league-leading Pitt Bradford a run for its money but came up short in a 109-97 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference contest Saturday.

The Celtics (3-17, 2-10 AMCC) scored 32 points off 20 Panthers turnovers and kept Pitt Bradford (19-1, 12-0 AMCC) on its toes throughout the fast-paced, chippy game. Carlow outscored the Panthers 48-28 on fast break points after picking apart the Pitt Bradford press.

Riley Comforti (Scottdale, Pa./Southmoreland HS) led the Celtics with a double-double 24 points and a game-high 15 boards, going 10 for 12 from the field on the day. He dished out five assists and picked up four steals and two blocks. Byron Gaskins (Woodbridge, Va./Christ Chapel Academy) landed three of Carlow's seven treys and contributed 23 points, while Nehemiah Brazil (Pittsburgh, Pa./Nazareth Prep HS) and Jimmy Giannetta (Pittsburgh, Pa./Saint Joseph HS) added 13 and 12 points, respectively. Jordan Cannon (Cleveland, Ohio/Lutheran East/West Virginia Wesleyan) added 10 points off the bench, and Cannon and Brazil each dished out six assists in the effort.

Gaskins gave Carlow its first lead of the game with a three-pointer early on. The teams traded marginal leads before a trey put the Panthers up 14-12. Carlow kept it close throughout the half, never trailing by more than six points at a clip.

Ahead 34-32, the Panthers capped an 8-0 run with a dunk before Comforti landed a layup in the next possession. Devin Lewis (Warrenton, Va./Fauquier HS/Pitt Bradford) picked up a steal and scored a fastbreak layup to cut Pitt Bradford's lead to six with 4:13 left in the half.

Back-to-back layups gave the Panthers their first double-digit lead of the half, but Comforti put in two more buckets, and Brazil sank a foul shot to see Carlow trailing by five.

Giannetta hit a layup and cut the Panthers' lead to three with 1:31 left in the first half, but Pitt Bradford outscored the Celtics 8-1 to take a 10-point advantage into intermission.

It was a fast-paced start to the second half, with Gaskins and Giannetta landing three treys in a row to cut the Panthers' lead to 57-53. A dunk by Rodd Yarbrough set off a 10-0 run for Pitt Bradford that spanned three minutes before Comforti hit a layup with the Celtics now trailing, 67-55, with most of the half yet to play.

Lewis landed a layup that put Carlow within 10, but Pitt Bradford pulled ahead once again. A three-pointer by Clayton Cook (Brookville, Pa./Brookville Area HS) saw the Celtics down 72-62 before the Panthers strung together a 12-4 run within the span of a little over two minutes to gain their largest lead of the game, 84-66.

Trailing 90-73, Carlow went on a 13-5 run over the course of three-and-a-half minutes, culminating with a steal and a wide-open dunk by Comforti that saw the Celtics down by nine with 5:21 left in regulation.

Lewis picked up a steal and found Gaskins ahead for a layup that cut the Panthers' lead to seven, and Gaskins hit a jumper in the next possession to put the Celtics within five. Pitt Bradford broke 100 points with a three-pointer and extended its lead to 10 once again with 3:20 left on the clock. The Panthers outscored Carlow 9-7 the remainder of the game to secure the win.  

Pitt Bradford outrebounded the Celtics 45-39 and outscored Carlow 46-21 off the bench. The Panthers shot 63.9 percent (23 for 36) from the foul line on the day.

Jamarion Butler led the Panthers with a double-double, game-high 26 points and 13 rebounds. Jesse Laster added a double-double 17 points and 10 boards, while three other Pitt Bradford players tallied 15 points in the win.

The Celtics travel to Penn State Altoona for a 7 p.m. AMCC game Feb. 12.