TAMPA, Fla. -- There used to be a time when shutting down an opponent's leading scorer was a given for Pitt. The Panthers had the ability to take the other team's best player out of his comfort zone and force someone else to beat them.

That is no longer the case, and it was painfully obvious Sunday against South Florida. Dominique Jones, the Big East Conference's third-leading scorer, poured in 37 points to lead the Bulls to a 70-61 victory at the USF Sun Dome.

It was Pitt's third loss in the past four games and the inability to play good defense was a common thread in each of the losses. In the first loss of the Big East schedule to Georgetown, Hoyas guard Chris Wright scored 27 points. In a loss to Seton Hall, Herb Pope had 19 points.

Jones, a 6-foot-4 junior, was 10 for 20 from the field and 14 for 17 from the free-throw line. He also had 8 rebounds and 3 assists in 39 minutes. Jones became the first player since Chris Quinn of Notre Dame in 2006 to score as many points against Pitt. Quinn needed two overtimes to notch his 37 points. Jones only need the 40 minutes of regulation.

"Defensively, we just didn't get it done," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. "Jones hurt us and the free throws hurt us. The main thing we said was we didn't want to foul him and he got 17 free-throw attempts. I think that got him going. He was 4 for 11 [from the field] in the first half. When you get free throws you feel better about yourself. We didn't do what we set out to do."

It might have been a different story if Pitt senior guard Jermaine Dixon played, but he sat out with a sprained right ankle. Jermaine Dixon, Pitt's top defensive player, went through pregame warm-ups and was penciled in as a starter, but he was a late scratch. That forced Jamie Dixon to play Jones with several different defenders, but no one had much luck.

"He's a great player," junior guard Brad Wanamaker said. "We knew he would be tough to guard. He can do it all. He can shoot, he can penetrate, he can rebound. He got to the line 17 times. He kept going after it and things went his way."

South Florida only had 21 field goals and shot 39.6 percent from the field, but the Bulls got to the free-throw line 35 times and made 24. Pitt, conversely, was 12 for 22 from the line.

Pitt was whistled for a season-high 25 fouls. The previous high was 24 against Indiana.

The most crucial foul was one that was called on Dixon with 14:43 remaining. Official Ray Perone whistled Dixon for his first technical of the season when Pitt had possession of the ball and was down by six points. Jones went to the free-throw line and sank both shots, and that sparked a 13-5 run that gave the Bulls a 51-37 lead with a little more than 10 minutes remaining.

Dixon said the technical was not warranted.

"No, I did not," Dixon said. "I have great respect for the officials. They do a great job. I said, 'Call that.' And that was why I got a technical foul. That was clear as day. I don't believe that's how it should be called. I have great respect for the officials and believe they do a great job, but in no way did I say anything that would have been insulting or unprofessional. I think that's as much as I can say about it."

Dixon stopped short of calling the technical the turning point in the contest, but he admitted it had a big effect on the flow of the game.

The Panthers missed their final four free-throw attempts and only made 7 of 15 from the line after halftime. With South Florida leading, 59-54, with 2:56 remaining, Wanamaker had a chance at a three-point play, but he missed his free throw. With 1:31 remaining and South Florida again leading by five, Wanamaker missed another free throw after making a basket.

Pitt never did make the Bulls feel like their lead was in jeopardy.

"We missed a lot of free throws," Brown said. "I missed four myself. If we make 75 or 80 percent we're probably in the game, down two or three instead of five or seven. That was really big. It was a constant uphill battle and we just couldn't get over the hump."

Brown led Pitt with a career-high 25 points. Wanamaker added 14 points and Ashton Gibbs 11. The offense, however, got off to a slow start. The Panthers got down by 10 in the first half and played from behind for most of the game. Pitt never held a lead and tied the score just twice, the final time with three minutes remaining in the first half.

The Panthers have plenty to solve on offense and defense before their game at West Virginia Wednesday.

"We have to get back to the things that got us to win the first five games," Wanamaker said. "That's playing defense and playing unselfish and just outhustling other teams. We have to get back to playing [Pitt] basketball. For stretches we play selfish. We're not making the extra pass that we were making in the first five games. We're just not doing the things that got us winning."

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