University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
Cincinnati
Pittsburgh Slips Past Cincinnati
2/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 27, 2008
Box Score |
Quotes |
Notes |
AP Gallery 
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Sam Young had 20 points and DeJuan Blair 18 as Pittsburgh snapped a three-game losing streak with a 73-67 win over Cincinnati Wednesday night.
Blair added a game-high 10 rebounds and Keith Benjamin 11 points for the Panthers (20-8, 8-7 Big East), who won their 20th game for the seventh consecutive season.
John Williamson tied a career high with 27 points and Deonta Vaughn had 24 to account for the majority of the scoring for the Bearcats, who have lost two in a row.
The contest featured seven ties and seven lead changes and neither team opened up a lead of more than seven. The game was tied at halftime, and Cincinnati (13-14, 8-7 Big East) opened the second half on an 11-4 run, but Pitt scored the next seven points to tie it again at 40.
Pitt was nursing a two-point lead late until a Levance Fields 3-pointer with 54 seconds to play made it a two-possession game.
The win was the first for Pitt since starting point guard Fields returned from injury.
The Panthers started the season 11-0, but then Fields injured his foot during a loss to Dayton Dec. 29 after Pitt had climbed to No. 6 in the rankings. The team went 8-4 without Fields but had lost all three contests since he returned Feb. 15 at Marquette.
Making his second start since returning to the lineup, Fields had seven points and a team-high five assists.
Jamie Dixon became the first Pitt coach to win 20 games five seasons in a row with a victory that strengthens the team's chances of making the NCAA tournament for the seventh straight year. It also assures Dixon avoided first four-game losing streak. Pitt hadn't lost as many as even three in a row before in his five seasons before this stretch.
