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E-mailPitt rallies past Duquesne to win epic City Game
Slideshow: City Game
Pitt 67, Duquesne 58
John Grupp is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review staff writer and can be reached at 412-320-7930 or via e-mail.
Crosstown rivals Pitt and Duquesne gave an unforgettable showing in the final college basketball game at Mellon Arena.
In the first double-overtime game in a 77-year-old rivalry, Pitt defeated Duquesne, 67-58, on Wednesday night to provide one last indelible basketball memory for the venerable arena.
"This one will go down in history as probably the best (game here)," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. "Of course, that's my version of it. Duquesne might disagree."
Pitt (6-1), which never led in regulation, overcame a 16-point second-half deficit against a resurgent Duquesne team trying to beat the Panthers for only the fourth time in the past 31 meetings.
Pitt switched to a zone defense to cool off the hot-shooting Dukes (5-2), and Pitt sophomore guard Ashton Gibbs, who missed his first eight shots, made a game-tying 3-pointer late in regulation and added two 3-pointers in the second overtime to give Pitt its ninth win in a row over Duquesne.
"I just wanted to keep shooting," said Gibbs, whose 3-pointer completed Pitt's comeback and tied the game, 53-53, with 2:03 to play. "I knew it was going to fall sooner or later."
Duquesne led, 33-20, at halftime and 40-24 with 17 minutes to play, but struggled against the Panthers' rarely used zone defense.
"We had to figure something out on defense," Pitt guard Brad Wanamaker said.
The Dukes were 9 of 41 from the field and 3 for 22 from behind the arc after halftime. They missed 11 of their 12 shots in the two overtimes.
"I'd like to say we were (ready for the zone)," Duquesne coach Ron Everhart said, "but it sure didn't look like it."
Pitt scored the first six points of the second overtime on a Gibbs 3-pointer, a Travon Woodall free throw and a put-back by Gary McGhee to go ahead, 62-56.
Duquesne inched within 62-58 on a pair of B.J. Monteiro free throws, but Gibbs, who finished 3 of 15 from the field, hit another 3-pointer for a 65-58 lead with 1:25 left in the second overtime.
Gibbs shook off a cold start to score 12 of his team-high 15 points after halftime and led four Pitt players in double figures. Guard Brad Wanamaker had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and forward Nasir Robinson and McGhee each added 11 for the Panthers.
Bill Clark scored a game-high 23 points for Duquesne but went 3 of 11 from the field after halftime. Monteiro scored 10 for the Dukes. Duquesne's leading scorer and rebounder, Damian Saunders, had six points and eight rebounds before fouling out with 3:03 to play.
"I thought the whole night was going to be our night," Clark said. "That 2-3 zone kind of messed us up."
Pitt switched to the zone with about 14 minutes to play and stayed in that defense for the rest of the game. Pitt harassed Duquesne's outside shooters and still maintained a 54-41 rebounding edge.
"We had to change the pace of the game," Dixon said. "I can't believe I stayed in zone that long. It was tough for me to do. But for obvious reasons it was working, and we stayed with it."
Both teams had multiple possessions in the final two minutes, but neither team could break the tie. Duquesne's Eric Evans, who was 3 of 17 from the field, turned the ball over with 8.5 seconds to play, but Pitt never got off a final shot as the game went into overtime.
"We kept telling our guys, 'Get back to how we practice and we will find a way to win,'" Dixon said. "We found a way."
