Dec 21, 2002
Box Score
KINGSTON, R.I. (AP) - Neither playing on the road nor seeing its leading scorer limited to four minutes in the first half slowed down Pittsburgh (No. 3 ESPN/USA Today; No. 4 Associated Press)in an 87-71 victory over Rhode Island on Saturday night.
Brandin Knight scored 16 of his 22 points in the first half as the Panthers (8-0) opened up a 47-31 halftime lead.
Pittsburgh was not hurt by the fact Julius Page, averaging 15.3 points per game, played just four minutes after picking up two quick fouls. Page finished with seven points in 19 minutes.
Pittsburgh was playing just its second road game of the season and was in front of the first sellout crowd at the Ryan Center, Rhode Island's new on-campus arena.
"This is a very good win for us. This was a hostile environment and they're a very well-coached team," Pittsburgh coach Ben Howland said. "I've got to give credit to our defense and rebounding, which is a staple we believe in."
Pittsburgh outrebounded Rhode Island 45-27 and held the Rams to 31 percent shooting.
Jaron Brown had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Pittsburgh, which used solid defense and rebounding to make up for 24 turnovers.
"When you outrebound your opponent by 18 and hold them to 31 percent shooting, usually you're going to win, that's what we try to do," Howland said.
Dustin Hellenga led Rhode Island with 17 points, all in the second half.
Knight hit three 3-pointers in the first 5:04 as Pittsburgh opened an 18-6 lead. Pittsburgh came into the game limiting opponents to just 35 percent shooting and held Rhode Island to one field goal over the first 9:15.
The Panthers led 25-10 when Lazare Adingono hit Rhode Island's second basket, a 3-pointer with 10:45 to play in the half. Pittsburgh built the lead on the outside shooting of Knight and a solid inside game, outscoring Rhode Island 18-8 in the paint in the half and getting 11 second chance points.
"They shoot the ball the way they do from the perimeter and all of a sudden they go inside," Rhode Island coach Jim Baron said. "They don't have a lot of weaknesses and they created a lot of problems for us inside and out."
The only thing that kept Rhode Island in the game over the first 10 minutes was the fact it was able to go to the foul line. Rhode Island shot 12-of-16 from the line in the first 10:24 and went to the line 20 times in the half.
Pittsburgh went to the line 18 times in a foul-plagued half where the teams combined for 28 fouls.
Pittsburgh went on a 15-5 run to open 40-25 lead. Ontario Lett, who had 14 points, had a putback and a dunk during that stretch.
Brian Woodward hit a 3-pointer for Rhode Island to open the second half, pulling the Rams within 47-34, but Pittsburgh went on a 14-6 run to open a 61-40 lead. Yuri Demetrius capped the stretch with a 3-pointer at 14:24. Pittsburgh stretched the lead as high as 23 points on three separate occasions.
Knight came into the game averaging 11.4 points per game.
"Brandin played like the Big East player of the year tonight, I thought he set the tone early with those 3s," Howland said. "He came out and made it very clear who was going to win this game."
Knight was 7-of-14 from the field, including 5-of-9 from 3-point range.
"Tonight I got some open looks," Knight said. "The guys did a good job of setting screens and the opportunities were there."
