Marquette’s Dwayne Wade couldn’t be stopped

MINNEAPOLIS – After one half of basketball, it looked as if Dwyane Wade would be added to… MINNEAPOLIS – After one half of basketball, it looked as if Dwyane Wade would be added to the long list of scorers unable to break Pitt’s defense this season.

But Wade, who had just two points after 20 minutes of play, had other plans.

With the score tied at 37 just two minutes into the second half, Wade assisted on two layups by Robert Jackson.

Wade followed that up with a basket of his own, giving Marquette a six-point lead, its largest of the game to that point.

With that basket, Wade started his scoring assault from the floor, accounting for the Golden Eagles’ next 10 points, which put Marquette up, 51-44, with 14 minutes left to play.

“There is no question, he is the best player in America,” Steve Novak said about his teammate. “When he had the two-point first half, I didn’t even question he would come out and have a great second half.”

“Wade did an unbelievable job taking over their offense,” head coach Ben Howland said. “I’m basically in shock that the season is over.”

While the year had to end eventually, what is shocking is how it ended for the Panthers.

The Golden Eagles were able to put up 77 points on a Pitt defense that set a school record by holding its opponents to an average of less than 60 points a game. No team had been able to score more than 61 points against the Panthers since Connecticut dropped in 67 against Pitt on March 2.

“Ultimately, what cost us was our defense,” Howland said. “We were too anxious to make plays.”

As Pitt failed to make plays, Marquette seemed to have no trouble on its end of the floor. The Golden Eagles shot more than 50 percent from the field for the game and held Pitt to just 29 percent shooting from behind the three-point line.

Although Pitt was able to win the battle on the boards, outrebounding Marquette 30-28, the Golden Eagles had more second chance points, outscoring the Panthers, 11-5.

“It is the same feeling [as last year’s loss],” Chevon Troutman said, comparing the loss to last year’s against Kent State in the Sweet Sixteen. “It is a bad feeling for the seniors who aren’t coming back next year.”

One of those seniors is Brandin Knight, who proved again why he is Pitt’s leader and best player.

Knight turned in one of his best performances of the season, picking up a double double by scoring 16 points and dishing out 11 assists while turning the ball over just twice.

With his team trailing by 10 with just less than four minutes remaining in the game, Knight used his passing abilities to bring the Panthers back.

He found an open Jaron Brown for two points and hit Troutman in transition for another layup, cutting Marquette’s lead down to six.

After a turnover by Jackson, Knight found Troutman two more times for baskets, pulling Pitt within one point and forcing Marquette to call a timeout.

But despite making two free throws with 15 seconds left, Knight was unable to bring Pitt back.

“I thought we had the talent and personnel to continue on,” Knight said. “There are a lot of things we could have done better. This game is hard to swallow because this is it for me.”

Knight did have one last chance with about five seconds remaining, but his three-point attempt bounced off the rim.

“I didn’t really try to draw contact because [the officials] hadn’t been making that call all night,” he said. “I didn’t think they would have called that foul had I tried [to draw contact].”

“We’re really disappointed,” Howland said. “Brandin is so special. What he’s helped build at Pitt is really incredible in Pitt basketball history. These seniors have laid a very good foundation.”