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Technical foul changed momentum
- Frustration hits home
- Pitt notebook: Krauser finishes ninth in career scoring
- Starkey: Pitt's loss no upset
Joe Starkey can be reached via e-mail or at 412-320-7810.
The Panthers were leading Bradley, 35-34, a little more than 3 minutes into the second half when center Aaron Gray was whistled for a technical foul for spiking the ball following a 5-second call.
They would never lead again.
Gray suddenly had his third foul (a technical counts as a personal foul) and had to play more tentatively. Bradley's Marcellus Sommerville made both foul shots to spark an 9-0 run. The Braves made it a 19-4 run en route to a 72-66 victory.
Afterward, Gray was distraught.
"Obviously, it's a play I wish I could take back," he said. "But I can't."
As the possession unfolded, Gray appeared to be angry at guard Ronald Ramon for not clearing out and letting Gray go one-on-one against Bradley center Patrick O'Bryant. Gray later confirmed as much but also said Ramon made a smart play by giving him an outlet after Ramon's man went to double-team Gray.
"He was doing the right thing," Gray said. "I was just frustrated."
Pitt coaches said the referee on their side of the court never began a 5-second count as Gray held the ball on the low block. Had a count started, the coaches could have yelled to Gray -- who was near the Pitt bench -- to pass.
"What was strange was there was no count," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said.
When the referee blew the whistle, Gray slammed the ball to the floor. It bounced high into the air.
"It was nothing against the official," Gray said. "(The 5-second count) was a good call."
The technical foul -- made by referee Scott Thornley -- was a judgment call, according to Karl Benson of the NCAA Basketball Committee. Spiking the ball is not an automatic technical.
O'Bryant, meanwhile, decisively won the battle of the 7-footers. The lanky sophomore had 28 points, seven rebounds, two steals and a block. He was 10 for 17 from the field and 8 for 9 from the foul line.
The foul-laden Gray, who was coming off a perfect 6-of-6 shooting night against Kent State, had 12 points, four rebounds, no blocks and three turnovers in 22 minutes. He was 5 for 11 from the field.
After the technical, Gray missed a layup that would have pulled Pitt to within 38-37 and missed a dunk that would have made it 47-41 with 10:40 left.
Bradley appeared to feed of the technical. More accurately, it fed off Pitt's frustration.
Coach Jim Les planned for it.
"We said, 'When you see a level of frustration, we're going to turn it up another notch with our pressure,' " Les said. "I think we took (the technical) as part of the cue that it's time."
Added O'Bryant: "We knew we could get into them and frustrate them a lot."
