Pitt-Bradford got a first-hand look at one of the best Division III teams in the country Wednesday, and coach Britt Moore believes his team is closer to being at that level than the final score would indicate.

No. 14 Wooster looked every bit the part of its ranking as the Fighting Scots defeated the Panthers (3-5) 89-67.

“It’s hard looking at the score and seeing that we’re 22 points away, but I take away a lot of positives,” Moore said. “They’re the No. 14 team in the country for a reason. They average 25-26 wins a year for a reason. They do all the simple stuff very well. I don’t think we’re a long ways away at all.”

The turning point appeared to come early in the second half.

Trailing 47-35, Pitt-Bradford ran a designed play for Zach Smith and the sophomore from Smethport buried a triple, cutting the margin to nine, 47-38.

That was as close as the Panthers would get the rest of the way, however, as Wooster (6-2) responded with a 11-0 run to make it 58-38.

“We drew up a set play for Zach Smith and he drills a three to cut it to nine and then we just didn’t bring it on the defensive end,” noted Moore. “We had a ton of life, but all of a sudden nine becomes 16 and it’s hard to battle back against a team like that.”

The Fighting Scots (6-2) also showed off their balance in the second half, as five players finished in double figures, led by Spencer Williams’ 15 points.

They also showed off a deep bench, scoring 37 points, led by Jalen Goodwin and Milt Davis, who were both in double figures scoring with 14 and 12, respectively.

The lead swelled to as many as 27 in the second half, 80-53, on a three by Chris Logsdon with 8:12 to play before the Panthers went on a late spurt.

It was a far cry from the first half, as Pitt-Bradford appeared to outplay Wooster for large stretches.

They trailed 6-0 to start the game, but found their rhythm after that, as Eric Matheson hit a three to get things going.

“In the first half there were times where we were outcompeting them,” Moore said. “I thought we really got after it on the defensive end and we looked good on the offensive end. We just have to stretch that out over 40 minutes.”

The Panthers, as they usually do when they are going good, were balanced on the offensive end in the opening 20 minutes, as no player had more than seven points, led by Keith Burgess and Matheson, who each had seven.

Wooster built a 10-point lead early, but UPB battled right back, as Manny Welch knocked down a three and Burgess connected on a pair of free throws.

The Fighting Scots finished the half on a 16-7 run however, to take a 12-point lead into the locker room.

“I thought we had a handful of guys that were aggressive,” noted Moore. “I thought there were stints defensively where we looked better as a team guarding then say Pitt-Greensburg or some of our previous games. The potential is there, we just have to go and find a way to get it for 40 minutes.”

Burgess led four Pitt-Bradford players in double figures with 16 points, while Tyler Fantaskey had 13, Matheson 11 and Smith 10.

As a team, UPB shot 38.6 percent from the floor and Wooster 47.5 percent.

The Panthers now have a near two-week layoff before returning to action on Dec. 30, hosting Alfred.

“This is probably the least amount of time we’ve had off compared to my previous years,” Moore said. “I think it’s good for the guys. It gives us some time to get away from basketball. We’ll have four days to prepare for Alfred and then we get into AMCC play.”

NOTES: Fantaskey and Smith led the Panthers with 5 rebounds each … Josh Kipfer led Wooster with a game-high 13 boards … Wooster finished the game with 13 assists and Pitt-Bradford with 8 … Pitt-Bradford turned the ball over 13 times and Wooster 9.

WOOSTER (89)

Pannell 3-4-7-11, Lalonde 6-0-0-12, Kipfer 4-0-0-8, Brown 1-4-4-6, Williams 4-4-4-15, Nossaman 0-0-0-0, Logsdon 2-0-0-6, Goodwin 4-4-4-14, Davis 3-4-4-12, Stern 0-2-2-2, Belinsky 0-0-0-0, Foreman 0-1-2-1, Schwartz 1-0-0-2. Totals: 28-23-27-89.

PITT-BRADFORD (67)

Peoples 3-0-0-6, Works 0-0-0-0, Smith 3-3-4-10, Burgess 5-5-5-16, Matheson 4-2-3-11, Goss 0-0-0-0, Owens 1-2-2-4, Welch 1-1-2-4, Atkinson 0-0-0-0, Jackson 0-1-2-1, Pichette 0-2-3-2, Fantaskey 5-3-3-13, Klenke 0-0-0-0. Totals: 22-19-26-67.

Halftime: Wooster 47-35

Three-point FGs: Wooster – Pannell 1, Williams 3, Logsdon 2, Goodwin 2, Davis 2; Pitt-Bradford – Smith 1, Burgess 1, Matheson 1, Welch 1