Men’s Basketball: Pitt wins College Basketball Invitational

There was a sense of déjà vu as the Pitt men’s basketball team accepted a trophy following… There was a sense of déjà vu as the Pitt men’s basketball team accepted a trophy following its final home game for the second consecutive season.

Last March, it was the Big East regular season championship trophy the Panthers hoisted up in front of a sold out Petersen Events Center, this time they raised the College Basketball Invitational tournament silverware before a much more modest crowd.

It certainly wasn’t the trophy Pitt had envisioned lifting this season, but nonetheless the Panthers (22-17) can finish the season calling themselves champions after defeating Washington State (19-18) by a score of 71-65 to win the decisive game three of the CBI championship series on Friday night.

“We went through a lot of ups and downs during our season and we just wanted to end on a high note,” junior point guard Tray Woodall said. “This was great preparation for next season.”

Senior walk-on guard Nick Rivers, who played a season-high four minutes in his final game as a Panther, said he believes ending this year on a winning note is something that will help Pitt next season.

“Any time you end the year on a championship, it’s a good thing,” he said.  “We had a chance to play and grow together as a team and I know for these guys it is going to carry over into next year.”

Similarly to Pitt’s quick start in Wednesday night’s game two, Washington State dictated game three’s early proceedings and Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon was forced to call a timeout after an emphatic dunk by Washington State forward D.J. Shelton gave the Cougars a 13-8 lead.

The Panthers responded with a pair of 3-pointers by John Johnson and Woodall, and Lamar Patterson then scored a difficult contested layup to give Pitt its first lead of the game.

With the game being the third matchup between the Panthers and Cougars in the past five days, the familiarity between the two teams showed throughout a tight, entertaining first half.

Trading blows back-and-forth during the first 20 minutes, neither team led by more than five points.  A three-point play in the half’s closing seconds by Patterson was all the separated the teams as Pitt held a 38-35 halftime advantage.

Woodall said that Patterson, who was named CBI tournament Most Valuable Player, stepped up his game over the past few weeks.

“He became real confident and he instilled that confidence in the rest of the team and Coach Dixon because we knew that he was going to make the right play every time,” he said.

Midway through the second half, the Panthers finally began pulling away.

A shot clock-beating fade away jump shot from Woodall concluded a 12-2 Pitt run and stretched his team’s lead to 10 points with less than eight minutes remaining.

Woodall, who was one of five Panthers to score in double figures, finished with a team-high 17 points and added seven assists as he led the Panthers offense in both statistcs.

Dixon said after the game that he was very pleased with how efficiently Woodall and the entire offense performed, especially in the second half.

“We started getting to the basket and got penetration and we finished,” Dixon said.  “Our offense was pretty good – we shot 50 percent and only had three turnovers.”

Despite the deficit, the Cougars weren’t done just yet.  An aggressive style of play constantly got Washington State’s players to the free throw line as head coach Ken Bone’s team tried to get back in the game.

“By driving and getting fouls we could manufacture points,” Bone said.  “Pitt’s defense deserves all the credit for the way they took away our outside game.”

However, the Panthers’ lead didn’t drop below six points again, and an athletic bucket by Pitt forward J.J. Moore with two minutes left got most of the 3,849 in attendance on their feet and sealed the CBI title.

With the result beyond doubt, a couple of late buckets by the Cougars made the final score closer before the final buzzer sounded and Pitt’s celebrations ensued.

The victory marked the final game that seniors Nasir Robinson and Ashton Gibbs, who missed his second straight game with an ankle injury, will step of the Petersen Events Center floor as Pitt basketball players.

Coach Dixon praised Robinson and Gibbs for the way they fought through adversity in a difficult senior season for both.

“No two seniors have ever been through more injuries in their senior year,” he said.  “Neither one was healthy any time during the year really.”

“They’ve battled and won a lot of games over their careers and they’re going to be remembered.”