Alfred, NY- The Alfred State men's basketball team dropped a close battle against Pitt-Bradford 97-88. The Pioneers move to 4-11 on the season and 2-4 against conference foes.

Kennyh Hardeman notched his third double-double of the year as he tallied 21 points and 13 rebounds. Mykell Lawson led the scoring effort as he tallied 24 and grabbed six rebounds. Darius Cunningham Jr. added 13 points, and Ben Sneddon put in 11 points.

After a back-and-forth start to the first haft, the Panthers opened a 12-point lead with a little over a minute left. The Pioneers fought back to close out the half trailing, 49-40.

Alfred State opened the second half with a 9-2 run to cut the deficit down to 51-49. The Pioneers were able to tie the game at 70-70 behind a Lawson three and JJ Howard free throw. After going bucket for bucket, the Panthers edged out a seven-point lead, 89-82. Pitt-Bradford was able to hold the Pioneers off the Pioneers late rally to take the game 97-88.

The Pioneers will return to action this weekend as they host Mount Aloysius on January 17^th at 3 pm.