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Defense sparks win vs. Rhode Island

Sunday, December 16, 2001

By Chuck Finder, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Go back nine years. Rewind the memory to the days of Paul Evans stomping the sidelines and Jerry McCullough, Eric Mobley, Orlando Antigua and friends romping around the Fitzgerald Field House floor. That was the last season a University of Pittsburgh basketball team opened at 9-1. That also was the last season a Pitt basketball team ended with an NCAA tournament appearance.

Rhode Island's Marcel Momplaisir, right, knocks the ball away from Pitt's Jaron Brown yesterday. (Gabor Degre, Post-Gazette)

Want a comparison?

That 1992-93 Pitt team left the friendly confines of Pittsburgh only once during that sizzling start.

So home cooking must help.

"Nine and one is a good feeling," Pitt Coach Ben Howland said yesterday, after his Panthers reached that record with an ugly, 58-51 victory against Rhode Island, before 4,433 at the field house. "Wish we were 10-0. That's the only record that could be better."

Pitt, a loser only to South Florida in the Robert Morris tournament, arrives at this juncture of its non-Big East schedule ready to embark on its first foray outside Allegheny County -- a Tuesday trip to Ohio State.

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The Buckeyes weren't on the Panthers' minds yesterday afternoon, when the hosts missed 12 of their opening 14 shots and fell behind Atlantic 10 bottom-feeder Rhode Island (3-6), losers of five in a row.

Matter of fact, there wasn't much of anything on the Panthers' minds. They just endured a week of final examinations, which played havoc with their mental faculties and the Pitt practice schedule.

Guard Jaron Brown, for one, fretted over his Swahili test. "Chad Johnson," Howland added, "I can't even pronounce his classes.

"Guys up to 3 and 4 in the morning. We were not mentally sharp. So it's good to get a win when you don't play well."

Pitt equaled its season low in point production while converting just 37 percent from the floor (23 for 61).

It required a Donatas Zavackas 3-pointer three seconds before halftime to go into intermission tied, 28-28. It needed 6 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists from redshirt freshman Mark McCarroll, in place of a gimpy Zavackas ("gave us a big lift" was how Howland termed McCarroll's contributions). It muffed six of eight free-throw attempts in the game's final minute and change.

What enabled the Panthers to outlast Rhode Island yesterday was their stifling defense. They won their 19th consecutive game when holding an opponent below 60 points. They limited the Rams to 29.6 percent shooting and, after being outrebounded in the first half, had a 26-17 edge in the second half along with a career-high 10 rebounds from guards Brown and Brandin Knight.

Knight, their catalyst, point guard and leading scorer, gave the Panthers a fright late in the first half. He slipped while trying to double-team a shooter and crumpled to the floor, clutching his right knee and pounding his right fist against the hardwood.

"A lot of things went through my mind at that time," Howland said. "My first thought was 'ACL. There he is, the rest of the year.' "

Alas, the injury proved to be an aggravation of his tendinitis, and Knight returned in the second half to finish with 14 points. Brown, who momentarily replaced him at point guard (a position he prefers not to play), was close behind with his 12 points and game-high seven offensive rebounds.

"That's what I like to do," Brown said of rebounding.

Brown's two free throws barely four minutes into the second half gave Pitt a 34-33 advantage, a lead it wouldn't relinquish. Rhode Island promptly went through an 0-for-9 shooting drought and, after a timeout, couldn't even let loose an attempt against the Panthers' defense, turning the ball over on a shot-clock violation. The Rams missed 18 of their initial 24 shots in the second half as Pitt mustered enough offense -- making 12 of 29 from the floor -- to take its largest lead at 54-49.

"Oh, man," said Rhode Island's Lazare Adingono, whose 21 points not only topped all scorers, but also his season total of 20 points. "They come back hard on defense. I said, 'Darn, what's wrong with these people?' "

The Panthers lead the latest NCAA rankings in fewest points allowed (52.8 before yesterday) and rank 10th in lowest field-goal percentage allowed (34).

"That's the reason why we won today," Howland said of defense.

"They're a real good basketball team," said Rhode Island's first-year coach Jim Baron, formerly of St. Francis and St. Bonaventure. "They're very athletic, physical and strong."

They're also once beaten, unchallenged, unranked and unloved. But you cannot say untested.

After a week of tough finals, including Swahili, these Panthers survived an afternoon exam. Next comes a road test.