PITTSBURGH—Lamar Patterson hit a three-pointer six seconds into the game against visiting Georgetown Saturday night and it set the tone for a 72-60 upset of the ninth-ranked Hoyas (16-4, 6-3 Big East).
After what has been a disappointing season, Pitt (13-9, 2-7 Big East) led from start to finish and turned in its best effort of the year. The Panthers improved their record to 12-0 at the Pederson Events Center against top-tem teams.
"I really liked how we played basketball against a very good, defensive team," Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon said. "We haven’t been good this year, but we were pretty good today."
One glaring stat was in the rebounding column as the Panthers out-rebounded the much-taller Hoyas by twelve boards (35-23). Dixon credit both hustle and shot selection as being keys in winning the rebounding battle.
"When you block out, make [the opponent] take bad shots, and you take good shots, that leads to positive rebounding situations," Dixon said. "We had a body in between them and the basket."
Pitt led by as much as 17 points in the first half and led 33-22 at the break. The Hoyas burst out of the lockerroom in the second half and cut their deficit to single digits but never got closer than 5 points.
The Panthers regrouped and pulled away again late in the second half and put the game away late by shooting 11 for 12 from the free throw line inside the last two minutes.
Nasir Robinson paced the Panthers by shooting a perfect 9 for 9 from the field and 5 for 6 from the free throw line. He also pulled down 8 rebounds and dished 2 assists.
"I don't know if I ever had a game where I shot perfect from the field," Robinson said. "I used my quickness and my teammates did a good job finding me."
Patterson scored 18 points, dished seven assists, had one steal, and pulled down four rebounds.
"We held our ground," Patterson said. "When I had my opportunities I tried to be aggressive and attack the rim."
Ashton Gibbs added 13 and Talib Zanna pulled down 8 rebounds and scored 8 points. Tray Woodall dished out 10 assists.
"We were passing the ball great and we made sure we worked the ball around," Woodall said. "Everybody knew [Georgetown] was a top-10 team and we wanted to go after them just like we go after everyone else."
Georgetown head coach John Thompson credited Pitt for playing great defense and criticized his team for just the opposite.
"We were awful on defense and in rebounding," Thompson said. "They got everything they wanted, and when they didn’t, they got the rebound. Everything from the defensive end that shouldn’t have happened to us happened."
The Panthers will not have a lot of time to contemplate their biggest win of the season. They travel to West Virginia Monday night.
"Every home court is tough in this conference and every team is good," Dixon said. [West Virginia] is very good, their crowd likes when we come down there, and we'll have to do everything we can to play well there."
for further information: Pitt web site
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