Ashton Gibbs scores 21 as Pittsburgh Panthers thump Robert Morris Colonials 81-71: NCAA Basketball
Ashton Gibbs topped all scorers with 21 points as Pittsburgh Panthers rolled past Robert Morris Colonials 81-71 for their third consecutive victory on November 27, 2011 at the Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh.
This win marked Panthers’ 30th straight victory against their cross-town rival and 69th against the Northeast Conference rivals.
Khem Birch made a good effort in his second career start and added eight points, 11 rebounds, and a game-high six blocks in the victory.
"He is got good timing, good length obviously," Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon said. "The six blocks (are nice) but we can get better defensively."
Cameron Wright came off the bench with 13 points on 6 for 7 shooting from the field while Travon Woodall recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists for Pittsburgh. Forward Talib Zanna also registered a double-double,
punctuating a career-high 10 points and pulling down a game-high 15 rebounds in the victory.
Pittsburgh played without forwards Lamar Patterson and Dante Taylor who missed their second consecutive game with vastly different reasons. Taylor is suffering from migraine while Patterson is out with a two-game suspension for
a violation of team rules.
Guard Cordon Williams led the Colonials with 19 points on 3 for 6 shooting from three-point range and a perfect 6 for 6 from free throw line. Russell Johnson scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds. He ended on 5 for 9 from
the floor, including 2 for 3 from downtown and 5 for 6 from the line. Velton Jones and Lawrence Bridges also chipped in with 10 points each. Jones, who is averaging 19.7 points per game in the season, was held to just 1 for 14 from the field, including 1 for
8 from three-point range.
The Panthers shot 48.1 percent of their shots from the floor while the Colonials shot just 37 percent. Pittsburgh made a solid start and carved out a double-digit (19-8) lead, early in the first half. Things only went upstream
for the Panthers from there and by the time the first half ended, they were leading by 17-points, at 42-25.
Pittsburgh continued to make inroads early in the second and pushed their lead to 22 points midway through the half. The Colonial tried to fight back and responded with an immediate 7-0 run and then an 11-1 spurt with about three
minutes to go. However, the late push only served them in reducing the margin of the defeat.
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