Associated Press
PITTSBURGH ó Pittsburgh went through more than half a season without losing, then faced the realistic possibility of falling twice in three days.
The Panthers didn’t let it happen, making sure everything that went wrong in its first loss ó the lack of rebounding, the poor down-the-stetch shooting ó wasn’t repeated.
Sam Young pulled out of a three-game slump by scoring 19 of his 22 points in the second half, and No. 4 Pittsburgh surged shortly after halftime of the Big East contest to defeat No. 8 Syracuse 78-60 on Monday.”The big thing in this league is not turning one (loss) into two,” point guard Levance Fields said.
DeJuan Blair, also coming off a poor game during a 69-63 loss at Louisville on Saturday night that ended Pitt’s two-week stay at No. 1, was strong inside with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Pitt (17-1, 5-1) outrebounded Syracuse 40-28 and held the Orange (17-3, 5-2) nearly 22 points below its scoring average.Several Syracuse players were seen complaining to the officials that Pitt was being too physical. The Orange drew two technical fouls less than three minutes apart in the first half.
Providence 72, Cincinnati 63
PROVIDENCE, R.I. ó Randall Hanke scored 15 points on 7-for-7 shooting for the Friars (12-6, 4-2 Big East).
Hanke and center Jonathan Kale were 12-for-13 from the field while their teammates combined to shoot 30 percent.
Mike Williams had 21 points for the Bearcats (12-7, 2-4).
Kansas 73, Texas A&M 53
LAWRENCE, Kan. ó Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich had 16 points as Kansas (14-4, 3-0 Big 12) stretched its home winning streak to 35 in a row.The Jayhawks haven’t lost in Allen Fieldhouse since Texas A&M beat them 69-66 on Feb. 3, 2007. The Aggies (15-4, 1-3) are still the only Big 12 South team to win in Lawrence since the conference was formed in 1996.
Tayshawn Taylor and Mario Little each hit their first four shots as Kansas roared to a lead, which reached 16-4 when Collins hit a layup at the 14:49 mark. W. Carolina 89, Ga. Southern 75CULLOWHEE ó Jake Robinson scored 20 points and Greg Avery added 17 for Western (9-7, 4-2 Southern).
Brigham Waginger and Harouna Mutombo added 13 points apiece for the Catamounts, and Kendall Russell had 12 rebounds.
The Eagles (5-10, 3-4) have lost four of five since top scorer Willie Powers suffered a season-ending ACL injury. They had won nine of the previous 10 against the Catamounts.
Coastal 64, UNC-Asheville 57CONWAY, S.C. ó Anthony Breeze scored 15 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead the Chanticleers (8-11, 1-5 Big South). Reid Augst led the Bulldogs (8-11, 4-4) with 15 points, followed by Matt Dickey with 12 and Sean Smith with 11.
Campbell 61, North Florida 57
BUIES CREEK ó Junard Hartley scored all 12 of his points in the second half for Campbell (7-10, 4-4 Atlantic Sun).
Campbell rallied from a 35-30 deficit with 13 minutes left by scoring nine unanswered points.