Panthers defeat Red Storm, 71-51

Flashy passes and shots were the formula that the Pitt men’s basketball team used to… Flashy passes and shots were the formula that the Pitt men’s basketball team used to stage a comeback win over the St. John’s Red Storm.

It’s not a typical equation for a team to overcome a deficit, though it seemed to work for the No. 4 Panthers.

Down 8-2, almost four minutes into the game, the Panthers came together as a team and pulled out a range of weapons, from alley-oops to no-look passes, to defeat the St. John’s Red Storm 71-51 at the Petersen Events Center last night.

“They are probably the best team, as far as playing as a team,” St. John’s interim head coach Kevin Clark said.

St. John’s scored the game’s first four points, propelling it on an 8-2 run, with half of its points coming from guard Daryll Hill.

Forward Chevon Troutman responded with a layup as he started a 20-8 run that allowed the Panthers (21-1 Overall, 7-1 Big East) to play catch-up. Pitt’s run eventually allowed it to gain the lead and never look back. Troutman’s layup was followed by an alley-oop that guard Carl Krauser lofted in the lane for Pitt’s leading scorer for the game, Chris Taft, who finished with 15 points.

The pass fell short of the top of the rim, so Taft secured the ball and laid it in. St. John’s forward Kyle Cuffe followed with a basket. Taft then converted one of two foul shots at the charity stripe, cutting the Red Storm’s lead to 10-7.

Pitt Center Toree Morris hit both of his free throws to bring Pitt within one. Forward Jaron Brown followed on the Panthers’ next possession with a floater, which he got to fall. Brown’s basket gave Pitt its first lead of the night, at 11-10, and it was a lead that the Panthers would not relinquish for the rest of the game.

On Pitt’s next possession, Brown, who had 13 points and seven assists, nailed a three-pointer, which bumped its lead to 14-10. The Panthers continued on their run with a dunk by Morris and field goal by Pitt guard Julius Page.

The score was 16-14 after St. John’s forward Lamont Hamilton knocked down both of his foul shots. After Page’s field goal gave Pitt a four-point lead with a basket, Red Storm guard Andre Stanley scored a basket, which was followed by a 20-5 run to end the half.

During that stretch, Krauser and forward Mark McCarroll hooked up for an alley-oop in which Krauser hit McCarroll with a pass without looking; Taft also joined the party with a dunk.

“The big men did their jobs,” Krauser said. “You want to reward them for running the floor.”

When the buzzer sounded at the half, the Red Storm (5-14, 0-8) trailed 38-19 and were left wondering how a game that they led for nearly the first seven minutes turned so quickly.

“They took our best shot early,” Clark said. “I don’t think that we had it for all 40 minutes. The biggest disappointment was the final score.”

Pitt came out in the second half and poured it on even more as it went up by as much as 21 points in the contest.

“I was surprised to see those guys back down and not play all 40 minutes,” Krauser said.

The Panthers beat up the Red Storm in the paint, scoring a total of 42 points in the paint, compared to St. John’s 26. Pitt was also able to take advantage of St. John’s turnovers. The Red Storm turned the ball over 18 times, and the Panthers were able to convert that into 24 points.

“I thought that we came out aggressive tonight and jumped all over St. John’s,” McCarroll said.

Pitt is next in action on Feb. 7 when it travels to Notre Dame. Tip off is set for 7 p.m.