Pitt cruises to victory, 75-68

One team had to go on its first losing streak of the season, and the Pitt men’s basketball… One team had to go on its first losing streak of the season, and the Pitt men’s basketball team was determined that it would not be the one.

Both Pitt and Connecticut were coming off of road losses, and neither team had lost back-to-back games all season. The No. 4 Panthers (23-2 overall, 9-2 Big East) avenged an earlier loss to the No. 5 Connecticut Huskies with a 75-68 victory before a sellout crowd at the Petersen Events Center on Sunday afternoon.

“We knew [that] both of us were coming off of losses and [that] whoever lost would be on a losing streak,” Pitt forward Jaron Brown said. “We didn’t want it to be us.”

UConn (19-5, 7-3) spent the majority of the game playing catch-up as Pitt jumped out to an early 9-2 lead. The Panthers drew first blood and never trailed in the game. Freshman center Chris Taft put in the first points with a layup, which was followed by a basket from UConn’s Denham Brown to knot the game at two.

Following Denham Brown’s basket, Huskies’ head coach Jim Calhoun was hit with a technical foul. Pitt guard Carl Krauser, who scored 13 points, hit both free throws, which appeared to give the Panthers momentum and a lead that they never would relinquish.

“I think that when [UConn] got the tech, it gave us the momentum,” Jaron Brown said.

Pitt proceeded to go on a 5-0 run in which guard Julius Page nailed a three-pointer and Jaron Brown hit a field goal. With the Panthers ahead 9-2, the Huskies went on a run of their own, scoring six points compared to Pitt’s two.

UConn forward Josh Boone sparked the run by nailing both of his foul shots, which were followed by layups on the Huskies’ next two possessions by Emeka Okafor. Panther forward Mark McCarroll, who scored 15 points, hit a jumper in between Okafor’s layups.

After Okafor’s second layup, Pitt’s lead was 11-8. Page nailed his second three-pointer of the game to put the Panthers ahead 14-8. But UConn’s Ben Gordon answered back at the other end with a basket from downtown.

The Panthers followed Gordon’s three-pointer with a 7-0 run. McCarroll was responsible for all seven points during the run; he hit a three pointer to start the run. Krauser hit McCarroll with a quick inbound pass, which he dunked to give Pitt an eight-point cushion.

Following a missed basket on UConn’s next possession, Krauser dribbled down the floor on a fast break. He laid the ball in the basket and the ball popped out of the basket. But McCarroll was right there to tip the ball back in the hoop.

“I came out and tried to play hard. Chevy [Troutman] was in foul trouble, so I tried to come in and give the team energy,” McCarroll said. “I take shots when I’m open.”

UConn was able to get within five points before halftime, but Pitt finished the half on a 5-4 run to give it a 36-28 halftime lead.

The Huskies came out in the second half and scored the first four points of the half with baskets from Denham Brown and Gordon respectively. Pitt Forward Troutman scored its first basket of the half, which put it ahead 38-32.

UConn would stick around until Okafor went to the bench with his third foul with 11:39 left in the game. Pitt would proceed to go on a 10-0 run with Okafor on the bench.

During the final 20 seconds of the game, the Huskies pulled within five points with the help of clutch three-point shooting by Rashad Anderson and Gordon along with missed free throws by the Panthers. But Page and McCarroll each nailed two free throws to close out the game.

Huskies’ head coach Jim Calhoun remembered how Pitt fell behind early in the teams’ first meeting, but was able to battle back and take UConn down to the final shot. Calhoun thought that UConn may have been able to do the same thing.

“We had moments today when I thought we might come back,” Calhoun said. “They were a little tougher and better at executing their offense.”

Gordon led all scorers with 23 points, and Jaron Brown led the Panthers with 17 points. Okafor scored 16 points but grabbed only six rebounds. Dixon credits Pitt’s team defense for limiting Okafor’s success.

“I don’t think that you ever can take a guy as good as he is out of his game,” Dixon said. “It comes down to team defense.”

Pitt is next in action at West Virginia on Feb. 21. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be televised on Fox Sports Net.