Zach Smith made a habit during his prep career at Smethport of making big shots, and he’s starting to develop that reputation on the collegiate level for Pitt-Bradford.

Smith, a freshman, drilled a pair of three-pointers and had a key offensive put-back as the Panthers went on a game-ending 19-12 run over the final 8:31, lifting them to a 73-66 win over La Roche in the first round of the AMCC playoffs Tuesday at Pitt-Bradford.

“That’s why I took all those trips to Smethport in the middle of winter to watch him play,” joked Pitt-Bradford coach Britt Moore afterwards. “He’s an elite shooter. It took him a little bit of time to figure out the speed of the college game, but someone like him spreads the floor out and allows (Eric) Matheson and (Keith) Burgess to get into the lane. He’s playing great and it’s a good time of year for it.”

It was also the first playoff win for the Panthers since Moore, who is in his third season as head coach, took over.

“The last two year’s we’ve gone to the playoffs, we’ve been on the road as the No. 6 seed,” he said. “It was nice getting this game at home. The student section and fan support has continued to grow. We knew La Roche would be a tough matchup. The energy in the gym really helped and I know the kids we’re excited about it.”

The Panthers (16-10) trailed by as many as 15, 36-21, in the first half, but never panicked.

They took their first lead since 2-0, 50-49 on a jumper from Burgess, and took the lead for good on a layup from Tyler Fantaskey that made it 52-51.

Fantaskey got called for a technical foul with 8:13 left after becoming frustrated over a no-call elbow to the face, allowing La Roche to cut the lead to 57-56 after a pair of free throws by Lionel Perkins.

Fantaskey responded, however, coming up with a huge three that stretched the lead to 67-60 with 2:54 remaining.

“He’s an emotional kid and he’s passionate about the game,” Moore said. “He stepped up and did a couple of big things for us after that.”

La Roche (14-12) cut the deficit to three twice more, once on a jumper from Perkins with 1:20 left and also after a jumper from Andre Flanigan with 1:20 to go.

Matheson, however, who finished with 17 points to tie for the team-high with Fantaskey, banked home an off-balance shot that put UPB back up five.

After a pair of missed opportunities on the other end by La Roche, Brandon McClester, Pitt’s lone senior, iced the game with a pair of free throws.

“Going into the playoffs, it becomes a little less about x’s and o’s and more about making plays,” Moore said. “I thought Matheson did a great job of that and I thought defensively we did a great job of that. I think’s that’s what separated us down the stretch. Guys just stepped up and made plays.”

That wasn’t the case in the first half, however, as La Roche raced out to a 36-21 lead with 5:02 left in the half.

La Roche got numerous offensive put-backs, outrebounding the Panthers 10-2 on the offensive end, as Perkins, Flanigan and Neal McKown all had nine points in the first half.

The Panthers rallied however, spearheaded by a three from Fantaskey that trimmed the margin to nine and a jumper from Matheson that made it 39-33 just before halftime.

Fantaskey got a good look from three at the buzzer that would have cut the deficit to three, but it didn’t go down. Still, however, UPB had clawed its way back into the game.

“They kicked our butt to start the game — in transition and on the boards,” Moore said. “I would have been thrilled to get it to single-digits, and even 11 or 12 I would have been happy. I came into halftime and said as poorly as we played, we’re only down six. We averted disaster a little bit.”

The momentum they gained at the end of the first half carried over into the second, as Colton Holzwarth came up with a pair of big defensive plays, taking a charge and forcing a steal which he converted into an easy two points that made it 41-39 La Roche.

“He stepped up and that really helped with the momentum,” Moore said. “He’s all energy, all the time.”

Awaiting the Panthers in the semifinals are the top-seeded Penn State Behrend Lions, whom they have not only lost to twice in the regular season, but their last two playoff trips as well.

“They beat us pretty bad the past two years,” Moore said. “They’re kind of the benchmark, considering they won the league last year and are the No. 1 seed this year.”

NOTES: Pitt-Bradford shot 60 percent from the floor in the second half and 52.7 percent for the game … Lucas Pichette finished with a team-high 10 rebounds to go along with his eight points for UPB … David Jackson had a double-double for La Roche with 13 points and 14 rebounds … The game against Behrend will be at its home gym, the Junker Center at 6 p.m. Friday

La ROCHE (66)

Perkins 5-5-7-18, Flanigan 6-2-9-14, Jackson 5-2-2-13, Tabron 4-0-0-8, Freeman 0-0-0-0, Redding 1-0-0-2, Smith 0-0-0-0, Herman 0-0-0-0, McKown 4-0-0-9, Brown 1-0-0-2, Totals 26-9-18-66.

PITT-BRADFORD (73)

Burgess 4-2-2-11, Matheson 8-0-3-17, McClester 3-2-2-8, Pichette 4-0-0-8, Holzwarth 1-0-0-2, Blanch 0-0-0-0, Smith 4-0-0-10, Fantaskey 5-5-5-17, Totals 29-9-12-73.

Halftime: La Roche 39-33

Three-point FGs: La Roche – Perkins 3, Jackson 1, McKown 1; Pitt-Bradford – Burgess 1, Matheson 1, Smith 2, Fantaskey 2