Pitt defeats Friars, 68-61

Thanks to improved free throw shooting, reduced foul trouble and strong play in the paint, the… Thanks to improved free throw shooting, reduced foul trouble and strong play in the paint, the Pitt men’s basketball team defeated Providence 68-61 last night at the Petersen Events Center, picking up its sixth conference win of the season.

Pitt came out shooting in the first half, but quickly shifted its offensive focus inside after missing on its first four attempted three-point shots.

Forward Ontario Lett sparked the offense in the first half, scoring six of the Panthers’ first eight points.

Lett made seven of his nine first-half shots from the field for 15 points. He finished with 18 points to lead all Pitt scorers.

Though the Panthers found themselves trailing Providence by five points just nine minutes into the first half, they mounted a 26-6 scoring run, including a string of 10 unanswered points to take a 12-point lead with just under four minutes remaining before the break.

Accuracy from the free-throw line was a crucial part of the Panthers’ success.

The Panthers made eight of their first nine free throws in the first half and finished 23-32 from the stripe.

“Making our foul shots was huge,” Pitt head coach Ben Howland said.

Forward Jaron Brown scored eight of his 15 points on free throws, missing only one.

“I thought that Jaron had big game for us tonight,” Howland said.

Despite the dramatic improvement from last week’s foul shooting performance at Syracuse in which Pitt missed 15 free throws, Howland insisted his team did nothing different in practice. He attributed Pitt’s improved free throw shooting to “better focus.”

In the second half, Pitt’s comfortable double-digit lead slowly vanished. After a Chevon Troutman layup gave the Panthers a 13-point cushion, Providence doubled back with a 13-3 scoring drive that included a key three-pointer by guard Sheiku Kabba and three free throws from guard Donnie McGrath.

The scoring drive left the Panthers up by a pair with 10 minutes remaining.

Providence tied the game at 54 on the second of two free throws by Kabba following a foul on Krauser.

“We still felt in control but we just have to get better ‘killer instinct,'” Lett said. “Our killer instinct right now is not on [a] championship level. We need to just stop relaxing. If we can beat Big East teams by 30, we have to start doing it.”

The Panthers regrouped and built a six-point lead, making nine of 13 free throws in the final 3:16, ultimately taking the contest by a seven-point margin.

Troutman finished with 12 points and eight rebounds and Brandin Knight added 11 points and nine assists for the Panthers. Freshman guard Carl Krauser, making his first career start for the Panthers, chipped in with eight rebounds.

“I was going about 95, 100 miles per hour out there. It felt good to come out there and get my first collegiate start,” Krauser said.

“He plays up-tempo. I trust that Carl’s going to make the right decisions,” Knight said.

Forward Ryan Gomes led the Friars in scoring and rebounding as he dropped in 26 points and pulled down eight boards for the Friars.

Kabba finished with 15 points for Providence (10-9 overall, 3-5 Big East) in the loss.

The Panthers (16-2, 6-1) did a good job staying out of foul trouble, as no Pitt player drew more than three fouls. The Panthers drew just 15 fouls in the game and held Providence to just 11 free throw attempts.

“They somehow got to the line 32 times and we only got to the line 11,” Providence head coach Tim Welsh said. “You’ll have to ask other people why we didn’t get there. I have nothing to do with that.”

The victory came without the services of star guard Julius Page, who watched the game from the bench while nursing a sore right ankle.

Howland said he is “optimistic” that Page will play in the team’s next game.

Pitt’s next game takes place on Sunday when the team travels to Notre Dame. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and the game will be televised nationally on ABC.