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Frustration hits home
Sommerville 5-14 7-8 18, O'Bryant 10-17 8-9 28, Bennett 1-7 0-2 2, Tauai 0-0 0-0 0, Ruffin 0-3 4-4 4, Franklin 1-4 1-2 4, Andrews 1-3 0-0 2, Wright 4-11 6-7 14, Adams 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-59 26-32 72.
PITTSBURGH (25-8)
Kendall 2-2 1-2 5, Gray 5-11 2-2 12, Ramon 3-9 0-0 8, Krauser 6-13 4-4 17, Graves 0-8 0-0 0, DeGroat 0-0 0-0 0, Fields 6-10 3-3 18, Hudson 0-0 0-0 0, Young 3-8 0-0 6. Totals 25-61 10-11 66.
Halftime—Bradley 30-29. 3-Point Goals—Bradley 2-6 (Franklin 1-1, Sommerville 1-2, Ruffin 0-1, Bennett 0-2), Pittsburgh 6-20 (Fields 3-4, Ramon 2-4, Krauser 1-6, Young 0-2, Graves 0-4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Bradley 40 (Wright 9), Pittsburgh 38 (Kendall, Krauser 6). Assists—Bradley 14 (Ruffin 4), Pittsburgh 11 (Krauser 5). Total Fouls—Bradley 16, Pittsburgh 23. A—NA.
- Technical foul changed momentum
- Pitt notebook: Krauser finishes ninth in career scoring
- Starkey: Pitt's loss no upset
- WVU zones in on Sweet 16
- WVU notebook: Bench comes through again
Dave Mackall can be reached via e-mail or at 412-380-5617.
O'Bryant notched a career-high 28 points to go with seven rebounds Sunday, leading No. 13 seed Bradley to a 72-66 upset of No. 5 seed Pitt in the second round of the Oakland Regional at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Bradley (22-10) became the second Missouri Valley Conference school this season to advance to the Sweet 16. It will face top-seeded Memphis on Thursday in Oakland, Calif. The Panthers have now failed to reach the Sweet 16 for a second consecutive season.
"They deserved to win. They did a great job," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said.
For Pitt (25-8), it was a bittersweet ending to a season of promise. The Panthers entered the season unranked, with only two starters returning from a team last season that was bounced by Pacific in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
O'Bryant, listed as 10 pounds lighter than the 270-pound Gray, used his quickness and superior athleticism to score at will. He hit 10-of-17 shots and continually got to the free-throw line, where he converted 8-of-9 attempts.
"I never really got into the flow of the game today. I struggled offensively and defensively," said Gray.
He finished with 12 points and four rebounds in a foul-plagued 22 minutes, as Pitt was whistled for 23 infractions, including four each on all five of its starters.
"They definitely wanted to control it a little bit more," Gray said of the officiating crew, which included a trio based in the midwest and west. "It just seemed a little weird that we had our three top players with two fouls in the first half and on the bench, and they didn't have any of theirs in foul trouble."
Marcellus Sommerville added 18 points, and Lawrence Wright had 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds for Bradley. Freshman Levance Fields paced Pitt with 18 points, and Carl Krauser added 17.
Pitt started poorly, missing its first seven shots and hitting only 1 of 10 to fall behind by 12 points. But the Panthers, despite their inadequacies, trailed by only one point, 30-29, at halftime.
They came out with a spark to start the second half and went in front, 33-30, on a layup by Krauser and a jump hook by Gray. But, after Gray's dunk gave Pitt its last lead at 35-34, things fell apart for the Panthers.
Gray, working against O'Bryant on the block, was cited for a 5-second call before being assessed his third foul on a technical after he slammed the ball to the floor in frustration.
"Obviously, the technical foul gave them momentum," Krauser said. "They gained a lot of energy off that play."
Sommerville made both free throws, sparking a 9-0 Bradley spurt that ultimately led to a 19-4 run and gave the Braves a 14-point lead -- their largest of the game -- at 53-39 with 8:52 remaining.
"It showed we were starting to frustrate them a lot and they might have gotten a call or two that didn't go their way and it just made them more mad," O'Bryant said.
But Pitt again clawed back, although it didn't have enough left to overcome the huge deficit. The Panthers were within 62-57 with 1:22 remaining, following a pair of free throws by Krauser, before Bradley held on, hitting 9-of-10 free throws the rest of the way to seal the victory.
Bradley coach Jim Les, who has led his alma mater into the Sweet 16 for the first time in 51 years, beamed with enthusiasm afterwards.
"Bradley basketball is back on the map in a big way," he said. "I'm proud to be a part of it."
