No. 13 Pitt Overcomes Lafayette's 17 3s

[January 03, 2008]  PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Keith Benjamin and Tyrell Biggs, playing much more for No. 13 Pittsburgh with two starters injured, led a second-half comeback and the Panthers withstood Lafayette's 3-point shooting show for a 96-75 victory Wednesday night.

Benjamin scored 20 points and Biggs and Sam Young both had 19 to help the Panthers (12-1) bounce back from an 80-55 loss at No. 20 Dayton on Saturday and overcome Lafayette's 17 3-pointers, a record for a Pitt opponent.

Gilbert Brown, Pitt's other new starter, scored 10 points and Ronald Ramon, shifted to point guard with Lavance Fields out, had 11 points and 10 assists. Ramon was 3-for-3 as Pitt went 8-of-9 on 3s in the second half after going 2-of-7 while falling behind 41-39 at halftime.

Pitt, using almost seven players exclusively after losing Fields and small forward Mike Cook to serious injuries in its last two games, trailed by as much as 38-31. Using a second reconfigured lineup in as many games because of the injuries, the Panthers looked unsettled at times on offense and defense and frequently were a step slow in defending whenever Lafayette (8-5) took one of its many 3-pointers.

The Leopards from the Patriot League hit seven of their first nine 3-point attempts and, at least for 20 minutes, flirted with dealing Pitt its first non-conference home loss since Bucknell's 69-66 upset three years ago to the night. That remains the Panthers' only loss in their last 78 home games against non-Big East opponents.

But the Panthers quickly settled down once the second half started, outscoring the Leopards 57-34 the rest of the way while leaning themselves on the 3-pointer to overcome the 20 points of Matt Betley, who was 6-of-6 beyond the arc. Bilal Abdullah added 14 points.

The Leopards, coming off an 88-76 loss to Robert Morris three days before, were almost certain to cool off, and they quickly did in the second half. Pitt took advantage by getting 3-pointers by Benjamin and Ramon to open a 56-49 lead, and the Leopards never made another push despite going 17-of-31 beyond the arc. They were 11-of-18 in the first half.

The previous record for opponent 3-pointers against Pitt was 14, accomplished by Notre Dame in losses to the Panthers in 2005 and 2006.

Lafayette fell to 3-37 against ranked opponents and still hasn't beaten a Top 25 team since a 77-70 win over Rutgers on Dec. 2, 1978. The Leopards are 3-3 with two games remaining on an eight-game road trip that doesn't end until Jan. 9 at Princeton.

[Associated Press; By ALAN ROBINSON]

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.