So much for Pitt treading water until Levance Fields returns to the lineup. The Panthers emphatically announced last night that they are still Big East championship contenders even without their star point guard.

No. 15 Pitt defeated No. 5 Georgetown, 69-60, at the Petersen Events Center. The Panthers (15-2, 3-1) are one last-second loss at Villanova away from being alone atop the conference standings. As it is, they are one of five teams tied for first place this morning.

"It's definitely a big win for us," senior guard Ronald Ramon said. "We were looking forward to this game. We just wanted it more."

Down two starters and playing four freshmen in an eight-man rotation, the Panthers won for the fourth consecutive home game against a Top-5 opponent. Pitt last beat a Top-5 opponent at home Jan. 29, 2005 when it knocked off No. 4 Syracuse.

"We're just going to keep playing hard no matter how many people we have," Benjamin said. "We're just looking to win. Nobody wants to lose. We're coming together as a team all over again."

The game was billed as a matchup between Georgetown senior center Roy Hibbert and Pitt freshman center DeJuan Blair. While Blair played a big part in the victory with 15 points and nine rebounds, Ramon and Benjamin came through with great shooting performances to lead the Panthers.

Ramon and Benjamin each scored 18 points. Ramon was 4 of 6 from 3-point range and Benjamin added two 3-pointers.

"We hit big shots," Ramon said. "I'm glad they went in."

Pitt led from start to finish, but put the game away with a torrid second-half shooting performance. The Panthers were 13 for 26 from the field after halftime against the top defensive team in the conference.

Georgetown entered the game with the No. 1 scoring defense and No. 1 field-goal percentage defense in the league. The Panthers shredded the Hoyas for 42 points in the second half. And they did it on a night when leading scorer Sam Young was 3 for 13 from the field and contributed nine points, half his season average.

"We just kept fighting until we started executing well in the second half," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. "To shoot 50 percent in the second half says a lot about us."

While Pitt's offensive execution was flawless in the second half, Georgetown could not keep pace. The Hoyas made 44 percent of their shots for the game, but they only made 3 of their 20 3-point attempts.

They came into the game shooting a league-leading 41.5 percent from 3-point range.

"They're a good defensive team, but I don't know if we'll have too many days where DaJuan [Summers] and Austin [Freeman] are 0-fer," Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. "You have to give Pitt credit because they do a good job of protecting the 3-point line. They always have. But we were getting a lot of shots we usually hit."

Freeman came into the game shooting 46 percent from 3-point range and Summers 38.

The tone of the game was set before the opening tip. After the national anthem, Blair approached Hibbert to shake his hand, but Hibbert walked the opposite direction toward the Georgetown bench.

"I don't care if he doesn't shake my hand," Blair said. "It won't make me or break me. I don't care if he shakes my hand after the game. I guess he was mad or something. He tried not to."

Blair got the better of Hibbert in the paint. Hibbert had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, but he was frustrated by Blair's quickness and did not get prime post position for much of the game.

"It was a tough game all around," Hibbert said. "I wasn't playing my best today. We were all a little off."

Georgetown squandered an early opportunity to seize control when Pitt missed 10 of their first 13 shots from the field. The Panthers made just 10 for 30 from the field in the first half and still managed to lead, 27-26, at the intermission.

Pitt went without field goals for two long stretches in the first half. The Panthers did not make a basket for 6¹/₂ minutes midway through the half and later went almost five minutes without a field goal.

Georgetown shot 50 percent (11 for 22) from the field in the first half, but the Hoyas only got to the free-throw line twice and made just 2 of their 9 3-point attempts. The second 3-pointer came from Jonathan Wallace on a desperation 3-pointer taken beyond half-court as the buzzer sounded.

Pitt opened up an eight-point lead a few minutes into the second half after Ramon and Benjamin made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions for a 34-26 lead. The lead was 11 with 11:14.

The Hoyas ran off eight consecutive points to cut the lead to three before Blair grabbed an offensive rebound, scored and was fouled.

"That's what we do," Dixon said. "Good shots lead to offensive rebounds. That was a good shot and he got the weak-side rebound, which is what we preach."

Eighteen seconds later, Benjamin made an acrobatic basket and was fouled. His 3-point play boosted the lead back to nine, and Georgetown never seriously threatened again.

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NOTES -- Pitt went to the free-throw line 26 times; Georgetown 13. ... The Panthers outrebounded the Hoyas, 37-33. ... Jeannette quarterback Terrelle Pryor attended the game and heard his name chanted by Pitt fans several times throughout the game.