Pitt stuns No. 1 UConn

‘ ‘ ‘ When their teammates struggled to produce, DeJuan Blair and Sam Young kept the Pitt… ‘ ‘ ‘ When their teammates struggled to produce, DeJuan Blair and Sam Young kept the Pitt basketball team ahead in Monday night’s masterpiece against Connecticut, Pitt’s first win over a top-ranked team in school history. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ But Levance Fields’ first six points of the game were the most important. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The senior point guard didn’t score until 3:11 remained on the clock and the game tied at 61, but he connected on two consecutive 3-pointers to seize the lead for good in the Panthers’ 76-68 triumph over the No. 1 Huskies at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Before his huge shots, Fields missed his first seven attempts but deferred to the efficient tandem of Blair and Young. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Young notched 25 points and went 4 for 6 on 3-point attempts before fouling out late in the game, while Blair’s 16th double-double of the season resulted in a career day for the sophomore center. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Blair dominated the highly anticipated matchup between him and Connecticut 7-foot-3 star Hasheem Thabeet, scoring 22 points and pulling down 23 rebounds in 38 minutes for the No. 4 Panthers (24-2, 11-2 Big East). ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Thabeet, meanwhile, was dogged by foul trouble all game and finished with just five points, four rebounds and two blocks ‘mdash; his lowest in that category since Jan. 10 ‘mdash; in 23 minutes. His rough output follows his sterling performance in the Huskies’ previous win over Seton Hall on Saturday, where he totaled 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine blocks. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt’s victory was the first in program history against a No. 1-ranked team in 14 tries. It also snapped Connecticut’s 13-game win streak. The Huskies last fell to Georgetown on Dec. 29 in their first Big East affair. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Senior A.J. Price carried the Huskies (24-2, 12-2 Big East) in the first half, and finished with a team-high 18 points. ‘ ‘ ‘ Kemba Walker and Jeff Adrien added 13 for Connecticut, although all of Adrien’s points came in the second half. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Fields finished with 10 points and five assists, and junior Jermaine Dixon had 11 points for Pitt. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Bucking a season-long trend, the Panthers were effective from the free-throw line, knocking down 16 of 20 attempts for an 80-percent clip. Pitt made 7 of 10 in the final minute to seal the win. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Young’s flaming start sparked Pitt to an early advantage over the Huskies. The senior made two 3-pointers on his way to scoring 10 of the team’s first 15 points, surging the Panthers to a 15-8 lead. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ But little-used sophomore center Gary McGhee had a sequence he’d rather forget soon after Pitt extended its lead. McGhee, giving Blair a short rest, committed three fouls in only one second of game time. The fouls put Connecticut in the one-and-one early in the half. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Despite the setback, the Panthers kept up their tenacity on the offensive and defensive ends. Nasir Robinson tipped in a miss to push Pitt to its biggest lead of the half, 23-15. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Huskies continued to hang tough despite minimal contributions from Thabeet and Adrien. But Connecticut couldn’t grab the lead even though it cut the deficit to one on several occasions before the half. Blair was the major reason why. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Blair tallied Pitt’s final 13 points of the first half, most of which came against the taller Thabeet. In one impressive instance, Thabeet blocked a Blair shot, but Blair retrieved the ball, and powered around Thabeet from the 3-point line to the basket and made a short hook in the paint while getting fouled. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Blair’s last points of the half pushed the Panthers’ lead to 36-28, but Connecticut scored the final five points, including a contested 3-pointer by Price with a second remaining for a 36-33 halftime score. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The referees got heavily involved at the onset of the second half, handing Thabeet and Young their third fouls early. As the half progressed, the Huskies inched closer. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Thabeet picked up a questionable fourth foul with 11:20 to go and was removed by coach Jim Calhoun. His absence led to Connecticut’s best stretch of the night, and a layup by Walker with 9:47 remaining gave the Huskies their first lead since the game’s opening basket at 50-49. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ A jumper by Adrien two minutes later sent the Huskies ahead 56-51 for their largest lead of the contest. But a 10-5 run by Pitt that included five points from Dixon set the stage for Fields’ baskets and the dramatic final three minutes.