Panthers lost it all in 20 minutes

NEW YORK CITY- This game was only 20 minutes long.

Pitt made a run at St. John’s late in the… NEW YORK CITY- This game was only 20 minutes long.

Pitt made a run at St. John’s late in the second half of Saturday’s 55-50 loss, and even took a brief lead at 48-47. But in the end, the hole they dug in the opening half proved to be too much to overcome.

The Red Storm set the tone in the first six minutes, catching the Pitt defense flat-footed. Before the disorganized Panthers knew what was happening around them, St. John’s had scored 14 points and electrified the crowd.

Lamont Hamilton led the way. Coming into the game, he averaged just under 12 points per game. He surpassed that total in the first half alone, netting 14.

Hamilton was everywhere on the floor, hitting six of his 10 attempts, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range. The forward’s play seemed unstoppable. He hit 3s from the wing. He hit turnarounds from the baseline. And when he wasn’t shooting, he was helping out on the glass, pulling down four offensive rebounds in the half.

Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon said his players were aware of the Red Storm’s early-strike capacity, but couldn’t explain the breakdown.

“We talked about it, we said that they would come out aggressively and have their early runs,” he said. “I can’t say that we were surprised.”

Perhaps more impressive than their offense was St. John’s defense, which held Pitt – averaging 75.3 points per game coming into the contest – scoreless until Antonio Graves hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 13:31 to play in the first half. Part of that was because of Pitt’s poor shooting, but much of it had to do with the Red Storm’s defensive efforts, which forced 12 turnovers in the first 20 minutes.

Four of their five starters logged steals in the first two minutes of the game. Anthony Mason, Jr. took the ball from Carl Krauser, which led to the first two St. John’s points. Lamont Hamilton, Eugene Lawrence and Daryll Hill all recorded steals in a 39-second span about a minute later.

As the lead grew, Pitt’s play became more frantic – exactly the opposite of what they needed, according to Dixon.

“I just didn’t recognize our team early,” he said. “We forced some things and it put us in holes.”

Much of that came back to Krauser, the team’s leader.

Playing in what was a sort of homecoming game, the Bronx native never seemed to find his feet. He had three of Pitt’s first five turnovers, the third so simple – he stepped out of bounds on the right side – that Dixon immediately pulled him. He finished the half with four turnovers.

He did score four points in the opening frame, but did so on a dismal 2-of-8 shooting, including 0-for-4 from 3-point range, where before Saturday he had been shooting over 41 percent.

Krauser also let his emotions get the better of him in the first half. With 4:36 to play, Lawrence stole the ball from Ronald Ramon. Both Ramon and Krauser gave chase as he streaked toward the basket, and Ramon was forced to foul him.

As Lawrence stood, a few players exchanged words and Krauser ended up in a shoving match. Both he and Phil Missere received technical fouls.

For those who saw the DePaul game earlier this year, the first half was all too familiar. The Panthers fell behind in that game 21-8. But in this game, they never gave the impression that they had the gas to fuel a serious run.

This isn’t to say that Pitt didn’t have its moments in the first half. John DeGroat hustled to keep a ball alive and finished the sequence by hitting a trey with 7:16 to play, bringing the Panthers within six, their smallest deficit since it was 5-0 to start the game.

Also, Aaron Gray continued to have not just good stats, but a good ethic, hustling up and down the floor and keeping the Panthers in the game almost single-handedly.

But by the time the horn sounded at the end of the half, the Panthers were down a dozen, a deficit Dixon cited as one of the primary reason the team’s winning streak was halted. And while the final 20 minutes were better for Pitt, Dixon said the team never entirely recovered from the opening period.

“We played better in the second half, obviously,” he said. “But again, digging a hole of 12 in a 50-point game is significant.”