Pitt
(5-4)
Mount St. Mary's
(3-6)
Carr Lifts Pitt to Overtime Win Over Mount St. Mary's
12/5/2017 9:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Marcus Carr scored a career-high 23 points to lead four double-figure scorers as Pittsburgh beat Mount St. Mary's 82-78 on Tuesday in overtime at the Petersen Events Center. Carr knocked down five free throws in overtime and was 7-of-8 from the foul line in the win.
Pitt shot just 1 of 5 from the floor in the extra period, but Carr's two free throws with 34 seconds left gave the Panthers an 80-75 lead. The Mountaineers closed to 80-78 on Donald Carey's 3-pointer, but Carr hit two more from the line and Mt. St. Mary's missed its final shot with two seconds to go.
The Mountaineers hit seven straight three-pointers to rally from a 15-point second-half deficit and take a late lead. Carr's layup with 25 seconds to go in regulation looked to win it, but Mount St. Mary's forward Bobby Planutis scored on a putback basket following an in-bounds play with six seconds to tie the contest a 73 with 5.5 seconds remaining. Carr's three-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded to send Pitt into its second overtime contest of the season.
Carr made seven field goals and seven free throws and has scored in double digits in four of his last five games. Jared Wilson-Frame scored 15 points, while Shamiel Stevenson and Khameron Davis added 14 and 12 points, apiece. Ryan Luther grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds, including eight offensive boards, for the Panthers (5-4).
Jordan Robinson scored 24 points with nine assists for Mount St. Mary's (3-6) and Jonah Antonio added 14 points.
The Mountaineers played the final 2:43 of regulation and all of overtime without senior guard Greg Alexander, who fouled out after scoring 17 points off the bench, including 5 of 7 from three-point range.
Pitt freshmen combined for a season-high 55 points in the win. The Panthers and Mountaineers share the NCAA lead, along with Duke and Kentucky, with seven scholarship true freshmen on the roster.
BIG PICTURE
Mount St. Mary's: Don't be fooled by the 3-6 record, the Mountaineers should still be expected to be contenders in the Northeast Conference. An aggressive non-conference schedule has seen Mount St. Mary's play Marquette, Notre Dame, Georgetown and Pitt on the road, which account for four of the Mountaineers' six losses.
Pittsburgh: Pitt (5-4) has now won four straight after losing four of their first five, but they haven't had a ton of separation. Their average margin of victory in the winning streak is just nine points. Carr is averaging a team-high 16.3 points per game, while shooting 61.8 percent (21-of-34) from the field and 94.1 percent (16-of-17) from the foul line during the win streak.
UP NEXT
Mount St. Mary's will visit their second straight Pennsylvania-based opponent with a trip to Lehigh on Saturday. That game tips off at 2 p.m. The Mountaineers are 0-2 against the Mountain Hawks.
Pitt will renew the Backyard Brawl rivalry with West Virginia after a nearly four-year hiatus. The Panthers will host the Mountaineers in the Backyard Brawl presented by EQT Corporation Saturday at 8 p.m. for the first time since Feb. 16, 2012. West Virginia won that game, 66-48, and leads the series, 96-88.
