Pitt
(8-5)
Towson
(10-3)
Freshmen Lead Pitt to 63-59 Win Over Towson
12/22/2017 9:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Stewart (13) & Brown (12) Spark Panthers
PITTSBURGH -- The University of Pittsburgh men's basketball team showed the toughness and resiliency of a veteran team, despite starting four freshmen and playing five first-year players for portions of the second half, en route to a 63-59 win over Towson Friday at the Petersen Events Center. The young Panthers were at their best down the stretch using a 19-6 run over the final 6:10 of play to overcome a late nine-point deficit.
"There's just a lot of things to like about this team," said head coach Kevin Stallings. "They're not the most talented team in the world obviously, we're not the most anything other than almost the most inexperienced. There's a lot to like because they have big hearts and they're good kids and they play to win. These kids play to win and that's why we won tonight."
Freshman guard Parker Stewart scored 13 points, including five during the closing run, to lead Pitt (8-5), while fellow freshman Terrell Brown scored a season-best 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field.
Towson led for almost 28 minutes, but couldn't hold off the young Panthers late as Pitt went 5-of-6 from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point range down the stretch. Freshman guard Khameron Davis had a four-point play with 3:38 remaining to cut a five-point deficit to one and freshman point guard Marcus Carr hit a contested three-pointer as the shot clock expired with 2:18 left to tie the game at 59.
Carr dug out his eighth rebound of the game on the following possession and continued his strong play late when he drove the lane and fed a pass to Jonathan Milligan, who hit a floating layup to give Pitt a 61-59 lead with 52 seconds left. Milligan and Davis each made a free throw in the last eight seconds to seal the win.
After going 1-of-16 from beyond the three-point arc in the first half, Pitt hit 6-of-12 in the second half. The Panthers shot 48.0 percent (12-of-25) from the field in the second half, while limiting Towson to 11-of-33 (.333) shooting.
"Coach Stallings always has faith and we have guys like Parker [Stewart]." said Milligan. "Every time that we shoot it, we think that it's going in, but our identity is defense. Our defense is always going to fuel our offense and that's the main priority, because when we play good defense, our offense gets going. We know shots are going to fall."
Pitt suffered 21 turnovers against the Towson press, shot under 40 percent from the field and under 60 percent from the foul line in the game but still came away with its seventh win in the past eight contests thanks in large part to a 48-34 rebounding margin despite starting four guards. Jared Wilson-Frame grabbed a season-high nine rebounds, while Carr (8) and Brown (7) also make a significant impact on the glass.
"I'm really proud of how hard our team fought," added Stallings. "I'm really proud of the character, courage and toughness that they showed to be down nine fairly late in the second half, those kids fought hard—they battled and they fought hard."
Towson (10-3) guard Zane Martin finished with 20 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the floor. Mike Morsell also reached double figures for the Tigers finishing with 11 points.
D WAS KEY
Pitt limited Towson to 3-of-12 shooting from the field over the final 6:10 of play. The Panthers also help the Tigers in check from beyond the arc for the game limiting Towson to 1-of-15 (.067) shooting from three-point range. Towson entered the night shooting 40.3 percent from beyond the arc.
FAB FRESHMEN
Pitt's freshman class accounted for 48 points in the win, including 16 of the team's 19 points over the final 6:10 of play. The Panthers had four or more freshman on the floor for 23:04 of game action. Stewart (13), Brown (12), Carr (7), Davis (7) and Shamiel Stevenson (7) each tallied seven or more points, while Peace Ilegomah had two points and three blocks in the win.
BIG PICTURE
Towson: In their second loss of the season at Oakland on Wednesday, the Tigers fell behind during a 16-0 first-half run by the Grizzlies. The Tigers avoided such a run through much of the first half and built a nine-point lead. But the Panthers made a 14-2 run on either side of halftime to turn that nine-point deficit into a three-point lead.
Pitt: Defeated its toughest opponent of the season in the Tigers, who were ranked No. 34 in RPI coming into the game. The Panthers' previous best win was over No. 45 UC Santa Barbara. Pitt is ranked No. 182.
UP NEXT
Towson won't play again they start CAA play with a visit to College of Charleston on Dec. 30. The Tigers will go 27 days without a home game during their current four-game road set.
Pitt also has eight days between games before hosting Miami for their first ACC game of the season on Dec. 30. That game will tip off at 4 p.m.
