BROOKLYN -- A second half surge was not enough to cut the Panthers lead into striking distance as Pratt fell 83-55 to Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Saturday afternoon in both teams' Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener.
Panthers forward Alex Johnson led all scorer's with 29 points and finished his double-double with 10 rebounds, and Brandon Votra totaled a double-double of 14 points and 16 rebounds as ACPHS out-rebounded Pratt 58-32.
For Pratt, freshman Bubby Vernon led the way, totaling 18 points on 3-7 shooting from three-point range. Andrew Yaglenski was the only other Pratt scorer in double figures with 10 points, and Tytus Millikan finished just shy of a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds.
The Panthers scored nine of the first 12 points to open the afternoon before Pratt scored eight of 11 capped by threes from Vernon and Ethan McClure, pulling within two at 18-16. With Pratt down four, a 9-0 ACPHS run sparked by a Johnson trey opened up a 31-18 lead, which the visitors extended to 21 points at halftime, 44-23.
An 8-0 Pratt run started with a Vernon jumper and followed up by threes from Yaglenski and Millikan trimmed the margin to 15, at 46-31, just 2:30 into the second. Millikan and Vernon field goals in the coming minutes again each trimmed the margin back to 15, and McClure free throws cut the lead to 14 at the 13:00 mark.
An 8-0 Panthers run upped the lead to 23 points at the 6:00 mark, putting to rest any idea of a Cannoneers comeback. On the night, ACPHS shot 42 percent and held Pratt to 31 percent shooting, going on to an 83-58 win.
Pratt returns to play on Monday, November 16, playing host to Webb Institute at 8:30 p.m.
