Pitt
Appalachian St
Men's Hoops Rallies To Down Appalachian State, 67-64
12/18/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 18, 1999
By ALAN ROBINSON
AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Ricardo Greer scored all but seven of 21 points in the second half and Pittsburgh rallied from a three-point halftime deficit to beat Appalachian State 67-64 Saturday.
Freshman point guard Brandin Knight added 10 points and made three free throws as the Panthers (6-2) held off the Mountaineers (4-4) by making 7-of-8 from the foul line in the final 47 seconds.
Greer led Pitt with 11 rebounds and scored six points during a 16-7 run at the start of the second half that rallied Pittsburgh from a 32-29 deficit to a 45-39 lead.
Appalachian State, playing its first game against a Big East Conference opponent, later tied it at 46 but never got any closer than two points after that despite having several chances to tie or go ahead.
Rufus Leach's 3-pointer with 34 seconds left cut Pitt's lead to 62-60, but Knight made the front end of a 1-and-1 before missing the second shot. With a chance to tie it, Leach missed an off-balance 3-pointer with 18 seconds left and Greer was fouled as Pitt rebounded.
Greer made both free throws, pushing the lead to 65-60 before Tyson Patterson drove the lane with 10 seconds left. Jeremy Holmes was fouled on the inbounds pass and sank both free throws, making Patterson's driving layup just ahead of the buzzer inconsequential.
Patterson had 12 points, Leach had 11 before fouling out and Cedrick Holmes had 10 points for Appalachian State, which is beginning the season with seven road games in its first 11. The Mountaineers stay in Pittsburgh to play Robert Morris on Monday night.
Derrick Worrell came off the bench to score 10 points for Pitt, which had lost two of three since beginning the season 5-0.
