NEW YORK – The Pitt men’s basketball team kicked off the 2003-2004 season by defeating… NEW YORK – The Pitt men’s basketball team kicked off the 2003-2004 season by defeating Alabama, 71-62, at Madison Square Garden in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.

The game was even for most of the way, until Pitt made its run late in the game.

“We knew they were going to make a run,” Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried said.

Pitt began a 13-4 run, with 5:03 left in the game, when forward Chevon Troutman and guard Julius Page entered the game. They joined guard Carl Krauser on the floor, giving the Panthers three players on the court with four fouls – each one foul away from being ejected.

It was a crucial time, with three key players in foul trouble and the Crimson Tide ahead of Pitt 49-48.

“We played smart and didn’t pick up any other fouls,” head coach Jamie Dixon said.

Page immediately had an impact, traveling down the court and nailing a three-pointer to put Pitt up by two, 51-49.

The Panthers stopped the Tide on their next possession, allowing Page to take the ball back down and pull up for another three-pointer. This time, however, the ball went off the rim and freshman forward Chris Taft came down strong with the offensive rebound and put the ball up for two.

After Alabama’s forward Chuck Davis hit a layup, Panther guard Jaron Brown passed the ball to a wide-open Krauser, who aimed and hit a three-pointer to give Pitt a 56-51 lead.

After Alabama scored on another layup, Krauser returned the favor, passing the ball to Brown, who then pulled up and hit a three-pointer for the Panthers.

Less than a minute later, Krauser hit two free throws, putting Pitt up 61-53, with 1:19 left in the game.

Both teams went into halftime needing to correct a lot of things. The score at the half was only 24-24. Pitt was 10-of-31 from the floor and 0-for-11 from behind the three-point line. Alabama had similar shooting problems, only hitting 10 of 26 shots from the floor.

Alabama took a five-point lead, 33-28, early in the second half, but Krauser, who only had two points in the first half, stole the ball from Alabama and made a layup. This started a streak of nine straight points scored by Krauser for Pitt.

Krauser, who grew up and played high school ball in the Bronx, New York City, finished the game with 21 points and three assists.

“It’s just like being at your home. As soon as you walk in the door, you feel no pressure,” Krauser said. “It’s awesome playing in New York.”

Another Panther who calls New York City home is Taft. In his first-ever collegiate game, Taft led the team in rebounds with 12. He also recorded seven points and one of the Panther’s two blocks in his 23 minutes of action off the bench.

Troutman also played a solid game, going five-of-eight from the floor, finishing with 13 points and six rebounds. He did end up fouling out with 1:50 left in the game, but he was the only Panther to foul out.

Davis led the Crimson Tide in scoring with 20 points and grabbed three defensive rebounds. Alabama guard Antoine Pettway also abused the Pitt defense for 17 points, including two three-pointers.

The Panthers finished the game with a field-goal percentage of only 40.4 percent, which is down from last season’s average of 50.6 percent.

Dixon said he knew this game would be a tough opener, but he was confident that his team could play strong at Madison.

“We kind of think of [Madison Square Garden] as a second home,” Dixon said. He went on to add that opening against Alabama was part of Pitt’s ongoing process of building a consistent program that is at the top every year.

“This was a great opportunity for us,” Dixon said.

Pitt will be back in action for its first home game of the season against St. Francis (Pa.) at 7 p.m. on Saturday.