Pitt survives Hurricanes, beats Miami

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – With less then four seconds remaining in the game, Miami’s Guillermo… CORAL GABLES, Fla. – With less then four seconds remaining in the game, Miami’s Guillermo Diaz hit a fade-away bank shot over Jaron Brown to give the Hurricanes a 64-62 lead. The Panthers’ perfect season seemed destined to end.

First year head coach Jamie Dixon was not concerned. He still had 3.9 seconds left in the ballgame.

Dixon called on a play that had been practiced every day since the season began. Carl Krauser, who had missed the last four games with a groin injury, got the inbounds pass, ran the length of the court and hit a layup to send the game into overtime. Pitt eventually won in double overtime 84-80 to improve to a perfect 16-0 (2-0 in the Big East) on the season.

“Coach [Dixon] separated himself from other coaches in the league today,” Krauser said. “He came into the huddle smiling after Diaz hit that shot. He said it was OK, and we were not going to lose.”

Five different Panthers scored in double figures. Krauser led the way with 19, while Chris Taft had 17 points and nine rebounds and Jaron Brown chipped in with 16 points and nine rebounds. Julius Page added 15 points.

Both teams started off shooting the ball well. Pitt shot 59.1 percent in the first half, while Miami shot 53.8 percent. Midway through the first half, the Panthers trailed 18-16, when Antonio Graves hit a three-pointer. The shot sparked Pitt, which proceeded to go on a 14-0 run, including a block and a dunk from Taft and two steals by Chevon Troutman. The run gave the Panthers a 30-18 lead with six minutes remaining in the half.

But the Hurricanes would respond, going on a 12-0 run of their own, led by Diaz, who finished the game with 18 points. The late first-half run gave Miami momentum going into the locker room at halftime, down by only two, 36-34.

Miami came out firing again in the second half. Darius Rice, who had a game-high 22 points, also played well on defense, getting a steal and setting up Robert Hite for a fast-break layup to give the Hurricanes the lead back at 47-45 with 11 minutes left in the game.

The Hurricanes continued shooting well, extending their lead to six with seven minutes remaining. Pitt tried to chip away on the strength of six points by Krauser.

Krauser hit four free throws down the stretch, along with hitting a layup to cut the Miami lead to one with fewer than three minutes left.

“These guys are winners,” Dixon said. “When things aren’t going great, they still have confidence in themselves. Especially when [Miami] was making the shots they were making.”

As the clock ticked down to less than two minutes, Miami looked to Diaz to try and seal the game. He hit a big jump shot to give the Hurricanes back a three-point lead.

Both teams held their ground defensively and the Panthers found the ball in their hands with 30 seconds remaining, down by three. Page, who only had five second-half points, hit a big three-pointer from the corner to tie the game at 62.

Once again, Miami went to their go-to guy, and Diaz hit a fade-away bank shot over Jaron Brown to put Miami back on top with 3.9 seconds left. After a timeout, Krauser got the inbounds pass and sent the game to overtime on a length-of-the-court drive and layup to tie the game at 64.

“That’s a play we practice everyday,” Dixon said. “All five guys did what they were supposed to do.”

In the first overtime, both teams traded buckets. With the score tied at 68, Brown hit a jump shot with 30 seconds left to give Pitt a 70-68 lead. Again, Miami turned to Diaz, but this time, he was unsuccessful in hitting the shot that would have tied up the game, and the Hurricanes were forced to foul Mark McCarroll.

After McCarroll hit one of two free throws, Diaz got a second chance to tie up the game, and this time, he hit the shot to tie the score at 71 and send the game into double overtime.

“I felt like Miami was making some tough shots,” Dixon said. “They played well enough to win. We did so many things in the game that told us we probably shouldn’t win.”

In the second overtime, once again both teams would trade scores. With the game tied at 77, Troutman found Taft open under the basket for an easy layup, which gave the Panthers a 79-77 lead. As Miami drove down the court, Brown got picked off of his man and was forced into a mismatch.

But Brown read Armondo Surratt’s eyes, stole the ensuing pass, and got fouled in the process. Brown would hit both free throws, and the Panthers would continue their perfect season.