Box Score
BRADFORD, PA – Freshman Jerame Owens broke out of his shell and scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Hilbert College to a 87-75 AMCC victory at Pitt-Bradford January 9. Consistent foul shooting at the close of the game secured the Hawks (5-2, 11-3) win while it dropped the Panthers to 2-4 (7-6).
Hilbert took an early 9-8 lead after five minutes of play before the Hawks hit a cold spell and were held scoreless for two minutes. Bradford built a 14-9 advantage which ended up being their largest lead, one they held for only 19 ticks on the clock. Hilbert’s rotation on the floor at that time (Nick Nadeau, Dan McFarland, Owens, Trevor Stark and Isaac Bushey) surged the visitors back in front and they never relinquished control of the game after that. Hilbert made 56.7 percent of their 30 attempts going four of eight beyond the 3-point line to take a 45-37 halftime lead. Hilbert held a rebounding advantage (16-13) with seven on the offensive glass and McFarland (10 points) and Stark (9) led the Hawks scoring after shooting a combined nine of thirteen from the floor while Owens earned seven rebounds by intermission.
With 8:39 left in the game, Hilbert built its largest lead (71-48) after Owens found the bottom of the net on passes made by Stark and Anthony Hodge. The Hawks went 9 of 12 in the last four minutes of the game preventing Bradford from slicing into their lead. The Panthers couldn’t get any closer than 14 points until their lay up at the buzzer set the final at 87-75.
McFarland produced 16 points (seven of eleven) and two steals to lead the three starters with double figures. CJ Hodge chipped in 13 points (7-12 at the charity stripe) and Anthony Hodge shot just under 50% from the floor to finish with 8 points. Owens, off the bench, gave the Hawks 32 minutes of solid play making ten of his sixteen shots, going two for two at the foul line, and getting credit for two steals and two blocks. Bushey was a perfect six for six at the foul line and finished with one block and one steal.
Bradford had even production from four players who all reached double digits, led by Jesse DeLoof’s 14 points. Tyler Ferguson chipped in 11 points and pulled down nine rebounds. The Panthers shooting cooled in the second half after opening the game with 62%. They held a slight field goal percentage advantage for the game over Hilbert, but the Hawks made five 3-point shots and were 20 of 28 at the charity stripe vs. Bradford’s 5 of 11.
The Hawks return to action Saturday January 12 when they host Pitt-Greensburg at 4pm.