Villanova stops Pitt in Philly

Sophomore Brad Wanamaker showed his friends and family why Pitt recruited him so highly last… Sophomore Brad Wanamaker showed his friends and family why Pitt recruited him so highly last night, when he played against Villanova ‘mdash; he didn’t miss a shot until he had only six minutes and 35 seconds left in the game. It wasn’t enough for No. 3-ranked Pitt, though, as the No. 21 Villanova Wildcats handed the Panthers their second loss of the season last night. Wanamaker scored 13 in the game ‘mdash; only the second time he has reached the double figures this season. His first one happened on Dec. 31 at Rutgers. But Wanamaker couldn’t score any more. He fouled out with just less than two minutes left in the game. It was the last college game ever played at the Wachovia Spectrum in Philadelphia, just minutes from where he played high school basketball at Roman Catholic. Wanamaker expected a large number of family and friends to attend the game. Prior to last night’s game, Villanova had a record of 0-4 against top 25 teams this season. But foul trouble and subpar offense plagued the Panthers throughout the game. The team saw 23 personal fouls to Villanova’s 14, causing many of Pitt’s bench players to see time early in the game. Pitt center DeJuan Blair, the nation’s fourth-leading rebounder entering the game, was limited because of foul trouble and finished with seven points and eight rebounds. Pitt led for all but a minute in the first half, giving up two one-point leads to Villanova at the hands of Reggie Redding and Dante Cunningham. Redding had a career-high 18 points on the night. It looked like it might be easy early on, as the Panthers drove the score to 10-2 before the Wildcats came back and made it a more evenly played game.’ They pulled away in the final minutes. Pitt went only 3 for 15 from behind the arc and shot 41.5 percent overall. Young led the team with 14 points and seven rebounds. The Panthers return home Saturday for a noon tipoff, as they look for a win against Notre Dame.