St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
No. 18/15 Pittsburgh
Red Storm Can't Knock Off Panthers
2/8/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 8, 2005
By ALAN ROBINSON
AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH - Chevon Troutman and Chris Taft wore down St. John's in the second half with their size and strength and No. 18 Pittsburgh shook off a sloppy performance for a 55-44 victory Tuesday night.
The 6-foot-7 Troutman, averaging 19 points over his last seven games, had 19 points and the 6-10 Taft had eight of his 12 points in the second half to help the Panthers (16-4, 6-3 Big East) avoid a second consecutive surprise loss to St. John's.
St. John's (8-12, 2-8) upset Pitt 65-62 in New York on Jan. 18.
The talent-thin Red Storm - their starters play nearly 80 percent of every game - hung around until midway in the second half, trailing 32-30 until Troutman and Taft began scoring repeatedly inside.
Taft and Troutman each scored twice during a 10-2 run that built the Panthers' lead to 42-32 with 6:30 remaining. Until then, St. John's never trailed by more than five points after withstanding a nearly 8-minute stretch without a basket early in the game in which Pitt opened an 11-3 lead.
The Red Storm trailed 17-15 at the half despite shooting only 20.7 percent in the first half - 6-of-29 - and 27.8 percent overall (15-of-54), mostly because they forced 22 turnovers. Daryll Hall, the Big East's third-leading scorer with a 19.8 average, had 18 points despite shooting 6-of-18.
The Panthers' frustration with a second consecutive poorly played game - they were coming off an 83-78 overtime loss to West Virginia on Saturday - was evident when Carl Krauser drew a technical foul for arguing with Pitt up only 24-21 early in the second half.
Krauser came into the game averaging 15.9 points, but didn't get his first field goal until just over a minute into the second half. He finished with 12 points and surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his career.
Pitt took control shortly after Krauser's technical as its guards repeatedly got the ball inside to Troutman and Taft against a St. John's frontcourt that had only one starter, 6-9 Lamont Hamilton, taller than 6-6.
Eugene Lawrence added 10 points despite shooting 1-of-10 as St. John's lost its eighth in 10 games and fifth in six since beating Pitt. The Red Storm are 0-8 on the road under first-year coach Norm Roberts.
Hamilton was among six St. John's players who were suspended or expelled after violating curfew at a Pittsburgh-area strip club after a loss to the Panthers last Feb. 4. A woman told police she was raped by the players she met at the club, but no criminal charges were filed against them. The woman was later charged with prostitution, attempted extortion and filing fictitious reports.
Taft, held to two rebounds in 30 minutes at West Virginia, had eight rebounds and Troutman had seven as Pitt held a 37-31 edge on the boards, only the third time this season St. John's has been outrebounded.
It was the second time in two seasons the Panthers were held to 17 points in a first half; they also were in a 59-45 decision over Villanova on March 2, 2004.
