PITTSBURGH — Ashton Gibbs and Jermaine Dixon led a mid-game surge as No. 25 Pitt broke out of a tie late in the first half by scoring 27 of the next 32 points, and remained unbeaten against city rival Robert Morris with a 77-53 victory Monday night.
Gibbs scored 20 points, only the second time in 10 games he’s reached the 20-point mark, and Dixon had 18 points and six rebounds while holding Colonials leading scorer Karon Abraham to two points over the final 241/2 minutes. Brad Wanamaker added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Panthers.
Pitt (18-6) won its second game in three days after losing four of five and ended a nine-game winning streak by Robert Morris (16-9) for the second straight season. The Panthers took control by breaking out of a 32-all tie with 2:38 left in the first half and led 59-37 with 12:18 remaining.
Abraham scored 16 points, but didn’t have a basket after hitting a 3-pointer with 5:34 left in the first half. His only points of the second half were two free throws with Pitt leading by 22 points with 6:06 remaining.
Russell Johnson scored 11 points and Velton Jones and Mezie Nwigwe had 10 each for the Colonials.
For most of the first half, this was a rarity in the all-Pittsburgh matchup: A close game.
Pitt is 28-0 in the series, all on its home court, with every victory by at least eight points. Since 1999, the Panthers’ average winning margin is nearly 24 points.
The Colonials, an NCAA tournament team out of the Northeast Conference last season, took advantage of Abraham’s fast start to go ahead 19-13.
The 5-foot-9 freshman had 14 points as Pitt led only 30-29 late in the half, but he wasn’t a factor offensively the rest of the game.
Once Abraham stopped scoring, the Colonials did, too. Pitt scored seven of the final eight points of the first half to take a 39-33 lead. Gilbert Brown’s tip-in with 2:18 remaining – his first basket of the game
– broke the 32-all tie and preceded Dixon’s 3-pointer and Brown’s own baseline drive.
Brown has been a streaky scorer lately, getting 25 points against South Florida and 23 against Seton Hall but not scoring against West Virginia while the Panthers were losing four of six. He finished with six points.
College
Pitt too much for city rival
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College basketball in brief
A closer look at Thursday night's men's and women's college basketball games:
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Penn State men absorb fifth straight loss
Penn State refused to be routed the first time No. 11 Michigan State had a chance to pull away for an easy victory.
The Nittany Lions, though, couldn’t stay consistent enough to keep their comeback hopes alive. -
South Florida rebounds with win over Pitt
South Florida’s Hugh Robertson combined a perfect night offensively with a stellar defensive performance that helped the Bulls rebound from their worst-ever Big East loss.
Robertson had a season-high 18 points and helped USF
(14-10, 7-4) hold Pittsburgh star Ashton Gibbs to a season-low four points in a 63-51 victory over the Panthers on Wednesday night. Augustus Gilchrist added 10 points for the Bulls, who lost by 30 points at Georgetown last weekend. - Local sports in brief 2-9-2012
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Michigan board gives go-ahead on Winter Classic
The University of Michigan Board of Regents on Wednesday authorized athletic director Dave Brandon to seek a contract with the NHL that would allow the league to hold next year’s Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium.
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Pitt-Johnstown wrestlers dominate Seton Hill
Pat Pecora picked up his NCAA Division II record 498th career victory on Tuesday night, but just like almost every other one, he saw some things that his Pitt-Johnstown wrestling team could improve upon.
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Happy Valley readies itself for a new brand of football under Bill O’Brien
White placards with a set of rules were affixed to the glass doors of the players’ entrance at the Penn State football building about the time Bill O’Brien agreed to become the school’s next football coach.
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Panthers win fourth consecutive game
Pittsburgh senior Ashton Gibbs is a happy man now that his backcourt mate, junior Tray Woodall, is back and healthy in the starting lineup. He’s almost as happy as Woodall, who recovered from a groin/abdominal strain to turn in one of his best performances of the season.
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Panthers looking to extend winning streak
Even as the losses piled up, Pitt’s men’s basketball coach Jamie Dixon said his players never abandoned hope. That can be tough in the face of an eight-game losing streak stretching from December into January.
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Nittany Lions drop 4th in a row
Bryce Cartwright has been in and out of Iowa’s starting lineup all season. Now the senior looks like he’s there to stay.
Cartwright, bothered with concussion-like symptoms earlier this season, scored 17 points to lead the Hawkeyes to a 77-64 victory over Penn State on Saturday. - More College Headlines
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College basketball in brief
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