HOUGHTON, NY—Nathan Schneider sank the winning basket with 1.4 seconds remaining in overtime, lifting the Pitt-Bradford Panthers over the Houghton Highlanders, 79-77, in both teams' season-opener.
 
The Panthers led by as many as 16 points in the first half, and with less than eight minutes to play in regulation, maintained a 12-point advantage.  But over the next 5:25, Houghton stormed back, reeling off an 18-2 run, capped by a Billy McCrae jumper to take a four-point lead with 2:29 to play.
 
Houghton's run, however, would stall there, as Bradford's Isaiah Archie sank a pair of free throws and Schneider tied the game with just over a minute to go.
 
The two teams would play to a stalemate over the final minute, sending the game to overtime.
 
With the Panthers leading by three with 2:15 remaining in overtime, Jordan Holmes found Jajuan Preaster in the paint, who sank a layup and drew a foul on the play.  Preaster then sank the ensuing foul shot to tie the game, 77-77.
 
Both teams failed to convert over the final two minutes until Schneider hit the go-ahead basket more than two minutes later. 
 
On the final play of the game, Reece Gustafson heaved a baseball pass over half-court to Preaster, whose desperation three clanged off the front edge of the rim, sinking the Highlanders comeback.
 
GAME VITALS
Score: Houghton – 77 | Pitt-Bradford – 79 (OT)
Records: Houghton: 0-1 | Pitt-Bradford: 1-0
Venue: The Nielsen Center, Houghton College | Attendance: 232

NOTABLE STATS
>> Preaster finished with a team-high 21 points, going 9-for-17 from the floor, while McCrae added 17 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots.
 
>> Gustafson finished with 14 points, knocking down 5-of-7 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. 
 
>> Schneider finished with a game-high 25 points and 14 rebounds, while Isaiah Archie chipped in 17 points, seven boards, four assists and five steals.
 
>> The two teams combined for 49 turnovers, 24 for the Panthers, 25 for the Highlanders. 
 
>> While Houghton won the battles of field goal percentage (48%-to-42%) and three-point field goal percentage (36%-to-18%), Houghton knocked down only 13-of-28 (46%) from the free throw line.  The Panthers converted 14-of-24 (58%) from the line.
 
COACH'S CORNER
"I loved our resilience tonight.  We fell into a few deficits but consistently fought our way back.  

"I loved how our guys approached the game, especially without knowing a whole lot about Pitt-Brad.  We focused on us and adjusted mid-game.

"We do, however, need to take better care of the ball and improve our efficiency. 

"Billy McCrae, Jujuan Preaster and Reece Gustafson played really well for us, and, overall, I think this was good experience for our younger guys." - Coach Lance Westberg

UP NEXT
The Highlanders head to the University of Rochester Tournament this weekend.  They will take on Southern Virginia University in the opening round at 1:00 p.m.