Feb. 12, 2005
Box Score
By ALAN ROBINSON
AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Carl Krauser's runner from the lane with 11 seconds
remaining put No. 18 Pittsburgh ahead to stay following two Notre Dame
comebacks and the Panthers turned to their bench for a 68-66 victory Saturday.
Pittsburgh (17-4, 7-3 Big East) trailed by as many as five points before
going on a 14-1 run without starters Krauser and Chris Taft to take a 58-50
lead on Chevon Troutman's two free throws.
Chris Quinn tried to rally the Fighting Irish (14-7, 6-5) in a game
important to their NCAA tournament hopes by scoring on three consecutive
possessions to briefly put them up 62-61, then hitting his fifth 3-pointer to
tie it at 65.
Krauser's basket restored Pitt's lead at 67-65 and freshman backup Ronald
Ramon made a free throw with 4.3 seconds remaining after Rick Cornett had
prevented Notre Dame from tying it again by missing one of two free throws.
Krauser led the Panthers with 16 points, but their bench contributed 24 points
scoring only six in the previous two games combined.
Notre Dame's final chance to win or tie ended when Cornett's too-long
inbounds pass was intercepted by Levon Kendall, who held onto the ball as time
expired.
Quinn was 5-of-6 from 3-point range and scored 25 points, while Chris Thomas
added 16. Pitt held Colin Falls to eight points on 2-of-11 shooting. Falls,
whose 23 points keyed the Irish's 68-65 upset of previously unbeaten Boston
College on Tuesday night, was 1-of-10 on 3-pointers.
Krauser, Pitt's point guard, was elbowed in the face just as the 14-1 run
started and didn't return for 5 minutes, but played a key role down the
stretch. The 6-foot-10 Taft, a preseason all-Big East first-teamer, sat out all
but 4 minutes of the second half because backup Aaron Gray was more productive.
Gray contributed nine points, five rebounds and two blocked shots in 15
minutes to Taft's one point, six rebounds and 0-for-3 shooting in 17 minutes.
Ramon and Troutman each scored 13, and Antonio Graves had 10 for Pitt, which
won its seventh in nine games.
Notre Dame was trying for its fourth victory over a ranked Big East opponent
this season but fell behind 28-15 before making 10 3-pointers in less than 13
minutes to take a 49-44 lead.
Ramon's fallaway 3-pointer from the corner and free throw restored Pitt's
lead at 51-50, and Mark McCarroll followed with a putback of Ramon's miss and
Graves added a 3-pointer ahead of the two free throws by Troutman.
Notre Dame was 14-of-29 from 3-point range to Pitt's 8-of-21, but the
Panthers were 14-of-22 at the foul line to the Irish's 6-of-10.
