BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Medaille College men's basketball team pulled out the win on a thrilling overtime game against the Pitt-Bradford Panthers. The Mavericks won 99-94.
It was looking like a hot start for the Panthers. They began the game with some steals and a statement dunk. Jorarei Bile fought his way for the first points for the Mavericks were a reverse layup to get the energy up. Rodney Graves was right with him, making a quick three right after to bring the Mavs back in it. From there, both teams were going back and forth with made layups. At 5:38 left in the half, the Panthers got to a ten-point lead from two made free throws. The Mavs were not going to let the game get away from them. Bile makes another important layup, then later Kendall McGill gets an offensive rebound, and fights for the points to make another basket. The panthers responded, but as the buzzer rang, Jaqwan Washington made a mid-range jumper to end the half. The Mavs went into the locker room down 37-43.
Bile was the kick-starter again at the beginning of the second half. He put the first points on the board. McGill was next up, hitting another important layup. The Mavs were playing some very strong defense. The Panthers managed to escape a full-court press and hit a three to go up 49-44. McGill came right back, charging to the basket to make the layup, and the and-one. Trevor Young started to get involved making a big-time three. Dante Moultrie played stellar defense, getting a block against a Panther fast-break. Graves made a three that finally put the Mavericks in the lead 55-54. He went up again, draws the foul, and makes both free-throws. It was really crunch time. The strong defensive performance from the Mavericks was making it difficult for the Panthers. The game became tied at 75, and the Panthers connected on a deep three to take the lead. The time was inching closer to the end of regulation. Washington ties it up at 80. With nine seconds to play, Graves drives in for the layup and makes it to tie it up. The teams reconvene to get ready for overtime. The score was 83-83.
The Mavs came out fired up. Young started it off with a layup. The Panthers were missing key shots to keep them in it. Graves put more on the board along with McGill. The Mavs went up 93-90, and it became a game of fouls. Graves was fouled some more and made his shots. The Mavs would take the win 99-94.
Five Mavericks scored double-digit points in their outstanding performance. Graves led the pack with a whopping 30 points, while also tallying seven rebounds and two assists. Bile had 18 points with five rebounds, Washington had 16 points, Young had 15, and McGill had 12.
The Mavs will play in their second conference match-up of the week against Penn State Altoona. They will travel for a start time of 4:00 p.m.
