Despite a furious rally to push the game to overtime and a game-high 20 points from senior… Despite a furious rally to push the game to overtime and a game-high 20 points from senior Gilbert Brown, No. 6 Pitt (25-4, 13-3 Big East) came up short against No. 16 Louisville (22-7, 11-5 Big East) Sunday afternoon, losing 62-59.

After trailing 31-22 at the conclusion of the first half, the Panthers mounted a comeback to force overtime with a 56-56 tie at the end of regulation. The run was capped off with two perimeter jumpers by Brad Wanamaker in the closing minutes, who turned in a strong game of his own with 13 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.

Following the tying shots by Wanamaker, Gary McGhee prevented a game-winner in regulation by blocking Peyton Siva’s layup attempt with 3.3 seconds remaining. McGhee also had 12 rebounds in the contest.

Down three with time winding down in overtime, Brown missed an open layup that led to a Louisville fast-break slam dunk with the clock winding down. In celebration, a Louisville cheerleader threw the ball, earning a technical foul — there were actually 0.5 seconds remaining.

Gibbs hit both free throws and, regaining the ball, the Panthers made a half-court desperation shot. It was off the mark, and the miss ended Pitt’s chance to send the game to double overtime.

Despite scoring 14 points, Gibbs went 3-for-11 from the field, making two of his three 3-point attempts.

Throughout the game, the Cardinals employed a full-court press and then transitioned into a 2-3 zone defense, two types of defense that Pitt has struggled against in recent contests. Against the zone, the Panthers had difficulty entering the ball into the middle and instead settled for a number of contested threes.

Pitt finished 4-for-14 from 3-point range.

For Louisville, Siva scored 14 points to lead the team, with Kyle Kuric and Mike Marra scoring 12 and 11 points, respectively. Kuric hit two shots in overtime, and that was all the Cardinals needed. Pitt was held to only three points in the extra time.

With two games remaining before the Big East tourney, Pitt is in danger of losing its hold on the Big East regular season championship, which it seemed to have locked in when it beat Connecticut back in December. Pitt plays an away game in Tampa against South Florida (9-20, 3-13 Big East) on Wednesday, then caps off the season next Saturday at home against Villanova.

With their win, Louisville is now within two games of catching Pitt for the Big East lead. The Panthers hang onto a slim one-game lead over No. 9 Notre Dame (23-5, 12-4) who could pull within a half game of the lead with a win tonight over No. 14 Villanova (21-8, 9-7 Big East).

Women’s Roundup

After recent losses to No. 21 West Virginia and No. 18 Georgetown, the Pitt women’s basketball team wanted to turn things around fast to make some noise before the Big East tournament.

But despite a strong performance from Taneisha Harrison and a career day from freshman Ashlee Anderson, the Panthers suffered their third consecutive defeat Saturday, losing 72-63 to St. John’s at Carnesecca Arena in Queens, N.ew York.

Senior forward Centhya “Coco” Hart had 13 points for the Red Storm (20-8, 9-6 Big East) in her final collegiate home game. She and fellow senior Sky Lindsay were honored before tipoff as part of St. John’s senior day festivities.

Harrison had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Panthers (13-15, 5-10 Big East), who dominated the boards early against the Red Storm. Pitt had 11 offensive rebounds in the first half, but it couldn’t convert any shots from the perimeter. The Panthers’An 0-for-8 start from 3-point range put the Pittanthers down at halftimeintermission, 28-24.

A quick 3-pointer out of the break from Shayla Scott snapped that cold streak, but the Red Storm pulled away with a 15-5 run that gave St. John’sthem a double-digit lead with under six minutes to play.

St. John’s took control by turning the tides on Pitt’s interior, as the Red Storm finished with 44 points in the paint. Forward Da’Shena Stevens had 15 points and eight rebounds.

The Red Storm also shut down Chelsea Cole, limiting her to two rebounds and two points in the second half after she grabbed 10 boards in the first.

Pitt freshman Anderson bounced back from a poor performance at Georgetown on Wednesday with a career-high 20 points against the Red Storm. Her five 3-pointers kept the Panthers in the game late.

But tTurnovers, howeverthough, hurt Pitt. The Panthers gave the ball away 19 times.

The loss  for Pitt ends any hope of the team catching West Virginia in the standings and cements either a No. 11 or No. 12 seed for the Panthers in the Big East tournament, which begins on Friday March 4 in Hartford, Conn. St. John’s, meanwhile, remains in the hunt for a first-round bye with the victory.

The Panthers will play their final regular season game, during which they’ll celebrate their senior day, Monday against Villanova at the Petersen Events Center. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.