Pittsburgh 67 – South Florida 55
It wasn’t a blow out win like many expected but the No. 4 Pittsburgh Panthers (24-2) won for the 14th time in 15 games to take a two game lead in the Big East, defeating the South Florida Bulls 67-55 on Wednesday night at the Petersen Events Center.
Nasir Robinson and Brad Wanamaker each had 13 points leading the way offensively, as the Panthers wore down the 8-19 Bulls in the final 10 minutes of play.
The Bulls played Pitt tight for the most part as the Panthers held just a 45-44 in the second half before Pitt went on a 15-2 run to pull away late.
With the victory, Pitt improved to 12-1 in the Big East, earning their 5th straight win.
The Panthers played without leading scorer Ashton Gibbs for the third straight game. Pitt continues to get excellent all around play from Brad Wanamaker who had 13 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.
Meanwhile, Robinson had a game high 10 rebounds in the win as Pitt dominated on the boards, outrebounding South Florida 35-17.
Gilbert Brown had 11 points and 7 rebounds for the Panthers who also got a big game from Talib Zanna off the bench. Zanna had 11 points in the victory.
Pitt next plays on Saturday at St. John’s. Ashton Gibbs, Pitt’s leading scorer, averaging 16.3 ppg, is expected to return to the lineup on Saturday.
