The ball hits the front of the rim and starts its descent back to earth. There are two things pulling it down. One is gravity. The other is Matt Beacom. Both are unstoppable forces. Both are magnetic. Beacom, who made his mark as a rebounding machine at the high school level, starring at St. Joseph in the late 1990s, now is cleaning the glass at the Division III college level. The 6-foot-4 Pitt-Bradford forward is getting recognized for his rebounding and inside skills in just his sophomore season. ‘I base my game on rebounding,’ Beacom said. ‘My goal was to average 10 a game.’ That is just what Beacom, a former Valley News Dispatch Player of the Year, did this season. His ability to box people out and get position in the paint has earned him national recognition. While pulling down 10.2 rebounds per game to go with an 18.1 scoring average, Beacom was been named Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Player of the Year. He led the conference in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage – he shot a red-hot 59.8 percent from the field. He also led his team in steals while being ranked 17th in the country in Division III in rebounds and was the 19th-best shooter at that level nationally. The player of the year honors were hard to top, but Beacom became a tad more famous when he was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division III All-District Team, an honor that recognizes the top DIII players in the country. Beacom knew he was having a strong second season, but the awards and accolades took him by surprise. ‘I didn’t expect any of this,’ he said. ‘I knew I had a chance to maybe be a first-team all-conference, but I didn’t expect all of this. ‘I was hoping the team could get back on the winning track.’ With Beacom guiding the way, Bradford bounced back. Beacom led Pitt-Bradford to an 18-9 season which included an 11-1 mark in the AMCC. But that wasn’t before the team did some rebounding of its own. The turning point was Christmas Break, when Pitt sat lonely at 2-7, seemingly awaiting the morning they would get coal in their stockings. But then something happened. Sparked by a team meeting in which players such as Beacom vented their frustration, Pitt turned it around. ‘Midway through the season, we said we were sick and tired of losing.’ Beacom said. ‘After that, we really got it going.’ ‘The streak,’ as the school will remember it by, started after a loss to Gettysburg College in the Wilkes Barre tournament. Pitt won a school-record 16 consecutive games and qualified for the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament. The team lost to Kings College in the first round, but players won’t soon forget the second half run. Or, Beacom’s contribution to it. Beacom had a career-high 35 points against Hoten (N.Y.) and pulled down a career-best 17 rebounds against La Roche College. He also had a 20-rebound game this year. Beacom was a key contributor during the run. He played almost posessed at times. ‘Matt is a deceptive player,’ Pitt-Bradford coach Andy Moore, who recruited Beacom, said. ‘He is very good inside. ‘He gets a lot of second shots off rebounds. He is a tough, hard-nosed kid. He plays bigger than 6-4.’ Beacom contributed 12 points and seven boards as a freshman, but came into his own this year as the go-to scorer. Beacom fit in nicely with three other double-digit scorers on the team. Beacom averaged 18.1 points, senior Don Bentley was next at 16, while junior guard Jason Luther and sophomore guard Brandon Housler averaged 12. The Panthers went 10 players deep, using the 6-4 Beacom and two 6-7 players to own the boards. Moore knows next season once again will center around Beacom. Opponents will see it the same way. ‘He did great things as a sophomore, but people know about him,’ Moore said. ‘Matt knows what he has to do, but people are going to play him differently. ‘He may need to expand his game.’ Beacom said he will work hard on his perimeter shooting during the offseason. ‘I want to work on my shooting from the 15 to 20-foot range,’ Beacom said. ‘I am not at the point where I am comfortable with my shot.’ Beacom averaged 21.4 points and shot 58 percent from the field his senior year at St. Joe’s. He grabbed 10.8 rebounds per game that year. He scored 1,278 career points in high school. ‘He was one kid that practiced like he played, 100 percent,’ St. Joseph head basketball coach Kelly Robinson said. ‘He leadership was just fantastic.’

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