Hansbrough helps Notre Dame upset Pitt

[January 25, 2011]  PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Ben Hansbrough scored 19 points, Carleton Scott had 16 and No. 15 Notre Dame beat No. 2 Pittsburgh 56-51 on Monday night, snapping the Panthers' 20-game home winning streak.

Scott went 5 for 6 from 3-point range as Notre Dame (17-4, 6-3 Big East) earned its first road win of the season. Reserve Scott Martin made three 3s and finished with 10 points.

The Fighting Irish have won three straight and four of five in the series against Pittsburgh, but they picked up their first victory at the Petersen Events Center. The Panthers won 51 of their previous 52 home games.

Gilbert Brown had 13 points for the Panthers (19-2, 7-1), who shot 40 percent (18 of 45) from the field in their first conference loss of the season.

Notre Dame trailed 28-23 at halftime but Hansbrough made a jumper with 9:25 left to tie it at 39, kicking off a 9-2 spurt for the Fighting Irish. Scott capped the run with a four-point play, making a 3 as he was fouled by Ashton Gibbs.

Brad Wanamaker, who had 12 points for Pittsburgh, converted a layup to trim Notre Dame's lead to 54-51 with 1:28 remaining but Hansbrough scored in the final seconds to help the Irish hang on.

Hansbrough also had seven assists and Scott added nine rebounds for Notre Dame, which shot 49 percent (19 for 39).

Pittsburgh outrebounded the Irish 29-23 but went 9 for 16 from the free-throw line and finished with only nine assists. The loss came on the same day the Panthers reached as high as No. 2 in The Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since March 9, 2009.

Gibbs, who entered averaging a team-best 15.9 points per game, made 4 of 13 shots to finish with nine points.

Notre Dame now has nine days before its next game, Feb. 3 at DePaul. It's the longest layoff of the season for the Irish.

[Associated Press]

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