Pitt 69, Connecticut 61: Postgame Recap and Audio
Game Recap
By: Nate Barnes
Pitt Men’s Basketball (15-4, 3-3 Big East) won arguably its biggest game of the season to-date, with the Panthers beating the Connecticut Huskies (12-5, 2-3 Big East) 69-61 by again using a run in the home stretch to take control of the contest. Like Wednesday’s game at Villanova—when Pitt outscored Nova 15-0 in the game’s final minutes—Pitt commandeered an 11-3 run to finish the game after Ryan Boatright tied the contest at 58-all with an and-one conversion after making a jumper with 4:09 to play in the game.
In those last four-plus minutes, the Panther defense prevented the Huskies from making another field goal while Pitt went 6-6 from the free throw line to seal the deal. Once again for head coach Jamie Dixon, the difference Saturday afternoon came down to rebounding. For the third time in conference play, Pitt out-rebounded its opponent and as a result picked up its third conference win. Pitt out-rebounded UConn by 11, 38-27.
For Pitt, Lamar Patterson led the way with 14 points and five assists. Tray Woodall added 13 points and six assists, while James Robinson chipped in 12 points of his own. On the other side, Ryan Boatright led all scorers with 20 points, but did so ineffectively as he had to take 19 shots to reach his total. Omar Calhoun was the only other Huskie in double-figures with 14 points. Pitt next will take on the Providence Friars Tuesday night at The Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island before returning to the Petersen Events Center on Saturday against DePaul.
Head Coach Jamie Dixon
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Pitt Players- Lamar Patterson, Trey Zeigler, Dante Taylor, and Tray Woodall
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Connecticut Head Coach Kevin Ollie
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