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Pitt crushes Kent State to advance
Krauser fouled
Chaz Palla/Tribune-Review
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Dave Mackall can be reached via e-mail or at 412-380-5617.
Nothing out of the ordinary there.
What stood above everything else was the way the Panthers simply demolished Kent State in their 79-64 victory at The Palace of Auburn Hills, avenging a Sweet 16 overtime loss to the Golden Flashes in 2002.
That and 7-foot center Aaron Gray, who notched his 18th double-double of the season with 17 points and 13 rebounds to go with five blocks.
Gray led six Pitt scorers in double figures, as the Panthers used a school-record shooting performance (67.4 percent) to bury the Golden Flashes, champions of the Mid-American Conference tournament.
"I don't think we did anything different in the way we went about our business of preparing for a game," Gray said. "We put in the hard work that's needed. We expected to make those shots."
No. 5 seed Pitt (25-7) advances to the second round to play 13th-seeded Bradley, a 77-73 upset winner over fourth-seeded Kansas in the second game of the night doubleheader in the Oakland Region.
The Panthers will be bidding for a fourth Sweet 16 appearance in the past five years.
"With them being a five seed, if there's (that many) teams better then them, I'd like to see who they are," said Kent State coach Jim Christian, a former Pitt assistant.
No. 12-seed Kent State (25-9) was led by reserve Kevin Warzynski's 15 points. Jay Youngblood and Isaac Knight added 10 apiece.
Senior guard DeAndre Haynes, the MAC Player of the Year, we limited to seven points on 2-of-10 shooting.
Pitt eclipsed its previous high of 66.1 percent shooting against Providence on Feb. 10, 1990.
The Panthers, who connected on 31 of 46 field-goal attempts, also received 16 points from Ronald Ramon, 12 from Sam Young, 11 from Carl Krauser -- who also had nine assists -- and 10 each from Levon Kendall and Levance Fields.
Gray and Ramon shot 6 for 6 each, while Kendall was 5 for 6, Young was 5 for 7 and Fields was 4 for 6.
Pitt also hit 6 of 14 3-point shots.
"The great passes ... the shooting percentage shows the passing decision-making our guys made throughout," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. "Great job passing it and finding the open guy and recognizing their double team (on Gray), which we knew they were going to do."
Pitt never trailed. The Panthers shook loose from a two-point lead with 13:55 remaining in the first half by starting a game-clinching 23-5 run that gave the hot-shooting Panthers a 34-14 advantage at the 6:43 mark. Pitt built its 20-point lead by hitting 14 of its first 18 shots and finishing the half at 68 percent (17 for 25) from the field.
Early in the second half, the Panthers stomped the Golden Flashes to ensure there would be no comeback -- and a second consecutive first-round exit -- by going on a 9-0 run to expand a 13-point halftime lead to 49-27.
Pitt bowed out of the NCAA Tournament last year with a 79-71, first-round loss to Pacific.
