The Pitt Panthers simply do not like to play the Oakland Golden Grizzlies.
For the second time in three years the Golden Grizzlies pushed Pitt to the limit, but the Panthers used some excellent free-throw shooting to survive a scare, defeating Oakland 81-77 in overtime for their fourth consecutive victory.
The last time Pitt and Oakland met was on Nov. 17, 2012, a 72-62 Pitt win in overtime. The Panthers had to come back from down 18 in the second half in that one. They had to come from behind in this one as well.
Pitt got a solid 19 point, seven rebound effort from Michael Young, including a reverse layup on a nice feed from Jamel Artis in overtime that gave Pitt a 76-73 lead, one they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the way. The win was Pitt’s sixth consecutive overtime victory,
“I didn’t feel good about the way we played,” said Dixon. “But I felt good once we got into overtime. We executed well down the stretch and in overtime. We did a good job of getting the ball to the right guys, but I’m not happy with our defense or our rebounding. We have to get it addressed.”
In addition to the big day from Young, the Panthers got a big day from James Robinson, who scored 18 points and knocked down all eight of his free throws, most of them down the stretch in the second half and overtime.
Pitt came into the game shooting just 69.6 percent from the free-throw line, but knocked down 24-of-29 attempts on the night (82.8 percent). That included a 20-for-25 performance in the second half and overtime.
“Guys stepped to the line and were real confident and made some pressure free throws tonight,” said Robinson. “We work on that in practice a lot, so it was good to see guys step up and knock down some pressure free throws in the game.”
Cameron Wright also chipped in 16 points for Pitt while Chris Jones added 16 points and dished out five assists.
Similar to their win against Manhattan on Wednesday night, the Panthers came out of the gates very slowly, struggling to make shots for much of the first half.
Despite leading 15-14 early on, the Panthers made just seven of their first 21 shot attempts. Oakland put together a 14-7 run over a six-minute span to take an eight-point lead, their biggest of the game. A lot of the damage from the Golden Grizzlies was provided from Kahill Felder, who scored 14 of his game-high 23 points in the first half.
Pitt eventually picked up the pace on offense though and closed the half with a 12-5 spurt that was helped by a couple of big three-point shots from Jones. The Panthers made their final five shot attempts of the first half.
Young drained a shot at the buzzer for the Panthers to send them into the locker room only down one at 34-33.
“Judging by how the game played out, that ended up being a big play,” said Dixon. “We called a timeout and got what we wanted there.”
Pitt picked right up in the second half where they left off in the first, making nine of their first 11 shots from the floor. Jones hit another three to give Pitt the lead and then Young converted an and-one to give the Panthers a 59-55 lead, their largest of the game.
But the Golden Grizzlies wouldn’t go away. Oakland responded with a 13-2 run that gave them a 68-61 lead with under six minutes remaining.
The Panthers responded though with an 11-4 spurt of their own.
Josh Newkirk knocked down four big free throws to get Pitt closer and Robinson scored the final five points of regulation to tie the game at 72.
“We just had to keep fighting,” said Robinson. “We didn’t play as well as we wanted tonight, but we have to stay confident both on offense and defense. We knew we would be able to get back into the game if we stayed poised and executed.”
Meanwhile the Panthers held Oakland to just 1-9 shooting in overtime.
“I think we have seen this movie before,” said Oakland head coach Greg Kampe. “We’ve come here three times and the last couple left heart broken. Could you ask Jamie if he could play us at our place once? Three times we have come here and led at halftime. We just haven’t been able to finish. Last time it ruined our season. This time I am hoping it propels us. I have a really young basketball team and they are sick to their stomach right now.”
In addition to the big game from Felder, Jalen Hayes added 16 and Max Hooper chipped in 12 for Oakland.
Pitt will be back in action on Tuesday when they host Holy Cross at the Petersen Events Center.
Photo Credit: USA Today Sports
