Associated Press
PITTSBURGH ó Ben Hansbrough scored 19 points, Carl Scott had 16 and No. 15 Notre Dame upset No. 2 Pittsburgh 56-51 on Monday night.
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.
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. It also was Pittís first home loss since Jan. 20, 2010, against Georgetown.
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 Dameís 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 the Panthers reached as high as No. 2 in The Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since March 9, 2009.
STRUGGLING SPARTANS
EAST LANSING, Mich. ó Tom Izzo joked that he would be banished back home to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula if he disciplined current players such as Durrell Summers as he did when Morris Peterson needed tough love before helping Michigan State win the 2000 national championship.
“I’d be shoveling snow in the U.P.,” Izzo said Monday.
The struggling Spartans (12-7, 4-3) have slumped to No. 25 in the latest Associated Press poll after being ranked No. 2 in the preseason.
“I look at our record right now as disturbing,” Izzo said.
Senior guards Kalin Lucas and Summers haven’t consistently played well for different reasons.
Lucas, who was the Big Ten’s player of the year as a sophomore and was picked to win the award this season, hasn’t been able to regain his form after rupturing his left Achilles’ tendon in last year’s NCAA tournament.
But Lucas insisted it hasn’t been difficult for him to still be a leader.
“My main thing is to lead by example,” he said.
Summers can’t stay focused long enough to let his talent shine. Izzo isn’t in the mood to passively wait for that to change, recalling what he told him at halftime of Saturday night’s loss at Purdue.