Pitt men win by eight at Notre Dame

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — With the game on the line, it was the seniors, who had never won at Notre… SOUTH BEND, Ind. — With the game on the line, it was the seniors, who had never won at Notre Dame, who made all the difference in Pitt’s 66-58 win over the Fighting Irish.

Just seconds after guard Chris Thomas hit his fifth three-pointer of the game to pull Notre Dame to within four, Julius Page took a pass from Yuri Demetris. Page faded to the corner where he was wide open for the three-point shot. He aimed and fired the ball right through the net to put Pitt up 59-52 with 2:32 remaining in the game.

With 58 seconds left in the game, the Irish closed the gap to 59-56 when Irish guard Torrian Jones hit a jump shot.

After Troutman connected on one of his two free throws, Irish guard Chris Quinn missed a layup and sealed Notre Dame’s fate, as Pitt (22-1 overall, 8-1 Big East) pulled down the rebound and pulled off a 66-58, comeback victory.

The final score does not reflect the way the game started out.

Notre Dame (10-9, 4-5) opened up with a 15-2 lead and Pitt looked to be in for its sixth consecutive loss in South Bend.

After a minute and a half of no scoring by either team, Thomas hit a three-pointer to start the Irish run. Thomas’s next two shots would also be from beyond the three-point arc, and both of them would swish right through the net as well.

Irish forward Torin Francis contributed to Notre Dame’s opening run with a layup and a two-point jump shot. Forward Jordan Cornette also connected on a jump shot to put the Irish up 15-2 with 14:47 left in the first half.

Jones pulled down a rebound after Page missed a jump shot and got the ball into the hands of Thomas, who set up to drill down another three-pointer. But this time his three-point shot fell short of the basket.

Pitt did not waste this opportunity to start a comeback. The Panthers ran the court and got the ball into the hands of Carl Krauser, who did not hesitate to send a three-point shot of his own through the basket.

After a missed layup by Cornette, Page drove through the lane and laid the ball in off the glass.

Notre Dame missed another three-pointer and Pitt center Toree Morris rebounded the ball and passed it back to guard Jaron Brown. Brown drove through the lane and made a running jump shot to cut the Irish lead to 15-9.

Notre Dame extended its lead back to 10 points again with 7:20 left in the first half, but the Irish lead would diminish from then on.

Pitt battled to cut the Irish lead to 32-26 at halftime.

“To play the way we did in the first half and only be down six points, we knew that once we got it going they couldn’t stop us,” Page said.

Out of the half, the Panthers went on a 17-4 run to give them a 43-36 lead.

Krauser started the run when he hit a layup 23 seconds into the second half.

After two free throws by Brown, Krauser crashed towards the basket, jumped into the air as if he was going to lay the ball in, but at the last second he dished the ball to his right to Troutman, who put the ball in off the glass.

On the next Irish possession, Thomas attempted another three-pointer and again missed, allowing Pitt to run the court. Troutman controlled the ball down low and opted to pass out to Krauser, who was standing outside the three-point arc. Krauser aimed, fired and watched the ball swish through, as he threw his crossed arms up, pounding them together.

The basket gave Pitt its first lead of the game, 35-34. After each team exchanged two-point plays, the Panther held a 37-36 lead and never looked back.

The Panthers built a 10-point lead, 51-41, after Antonio Graves passed the ball underneath to forward Chris Taft. Taft turned and banked a jump shot off the glass.

The Panthers finished the game with three players in double-digit scoring. Krauser led the way with 19 points and six rebounds.

Thomas led all scorers with 23 points, but just like the last time these two teams met, it was not enough to get past the No. 4 Panthers.

The Panthers are back in action tonight at Seton Hall, where they look to avenge last year’s 73-61 road loss to the Pirates.