After trailing by two at halftime, the Saxons (7-6, 1-1 Empire 8) came out of the gates strong in the second half and outscored the Panthers, 41-21. AU hit 90 percent (9-10) from the free throw line in the final period and out-rebounded the opposing team, 40-36, in the game.
Sophomore center Dillon Stein (N. Huntington, PA/Norwin) dominated down low for AU, scoring 15 points, while grabbing a game-high nine rebounds. Junior guard Quentin Bryant (Buffalo, NY/Seneca Vocational) had a game-high 16 points to go along with two steels.
Junior forward Todd Dersham (Campbell, NY/Campbell-Savona) dropped in nine points, while sophomore forward Ryan Clemenson (Ovid, NY/South Seneca) added eight points and grabbed six boards. Junior forward Ryan Hallett (Caledonia, NY/Caledonia-Mumford) finished with a team-high three assists.
Sophomore forward Ryan Race (Bradford, PA/Bradford) scored 10 points for Pitt-Bradford (5-4), while senior guard Aaron Kiffer (Olean, NY/Olean) netted seven points and dished out five assists.
The men’s basketball team will resume conference play next on Friday, Jan. 21, at 8 p.m., home against Hartwick College.