Pitt
Villanova
Panthers Gets First Big East Win
1/27/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 27, 2000
By ALAN ROBINSON
AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH - Freshman Donatas Zavackas returned from a three-game suspension to score 19 points and Pittsburgh got its first Big East victory under coach Ben Howland, beating Villanova 79-70 Thursday night.
Pittsburgh was 0-5 in the Big East and had lost six of seven conference regular season games dating to last year.
The Panthers (9-8, 1-5) squandered an 11-point lead early in the second half, then regained the lead with a 9-1 run started by Kellii Taylor's three-point play with 11:21 remaining. Taylor finished the run by making an off-balance catch of a long pass and laying it in.
Zavackas later scored four successive points to make it 64-57 after Villanova closed to three points.
Pittsburgh held off Villanova despite missing 12 of its 26 free throws in the second half, most over the final five minutes.
Gary Buchanan scored 20 points and had four of Villanova's eight 3-pointers, but the Wildcats (10-7, 2-4) lost their second in a row and third in four games. Villanova had followed each of its previous losses by winning its next game.
Pitt played without junior forward Derrick Worrell, who was kicked off the team Wednesday by Howland, leaving the Panthers with only seven scholarship players.
Forced to stay in a zone defense because Howland lacked the bench depth to substitute for his inside players, Villanova made eight 3-pointers after hitting only one in its previous game. Pitt has allowed 46 3-pointers in its last four games.
But the Wildcats were only 3-of-13 from 3-point range in the second half and couldn't put together any consistent offense after taking a 52-51 lead on T.J. Caouette's 3-pointer with 11:46 remaining.
The game was delayed for one night after the East Coast snow storm delayed Villanova's departure from Philadelphia.
