Pitt hangs on to beat Providence

Pitt escaped with a 74-68 win over Providence in the Keystone state Saturday. Providence hang around with the Panthers and really got under the skin of Aaron Gray who was in foul trouble early and had to sit a big chunk of the first half on the bench. Despite a lack of minutes Gray tallied 22 points in 25 minutes. The Panthers are the best three point shooting team in the Big East at 43 percent but were held to a minimum only making 5 of 13 behind the arc, as Providence stuck with man to man defense a first against Pitt this season. Pitt won its fifth in a row and 12 out of the last 13 games and took a one and a half game lead over Georgetown and distanced themselves from Marquette who they now lead by two in the Big East. A key 11-1 run during the first five minutes of the second half was key for the Panthers as they took the lead with just under 10 to play and never gave it back. The Friars shot well and led several times by as many as six as they got 22 points from Herbert Hill. The Panthers will not gain much in the standings from this win although they should bump up one as UCLA was upset by West Virgina. The Friars must win down the stretch to get them into the four letter tourney and not the three letter one.