BUFFALO, N.Y. – Pitt-Bradford’s men’s basketball team’s
season-opening loss Friday night was less about size than it was
about effort.

The Panthers were outrebounded 42-20 and allowed Nazareth
College to shoot 62 percent on the way to a 92-72 loss in the first
round of the Buffalo State Coles Classic Tournament.

While UPB head coach Andy Moore knew his team was undersized
going into the season, he chalked up the deficit on the boards to
his team’s hustle.

“That was going to be a concern for us – we’re not real big,”
Moore said. “But a lot of that was just effort. We didn’t give a
lot of effort attacking the glass and going after rebounds.

“They also shot 62 percent and a lot of that was our poor
defense. We didn’t contest a lot of shots. It was a very poor start
for us for our first game.”

Leading the Panthers were Dan Thomas with 22 points and Shawn
Spindler with 19 points, six assists and five steals.

“He’s (Spindler) been playing really good lately. He’s playing
with a ton of confidence and we need to have that from a lot of
other guys, too,” Moore said.

Pitt-Bradford shot 44 percent in the game (26-for-59), but
managed only a 25 percent showing from deep (4-for-16).

The Panthers are back in action today (1 p.m.) in the
consolation game against Marietta College (Ohio). Nazareth will
take on Buffalo State in the title game at 3 p.m.