Dec 8, 2001

Box Score

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Brandin Knight had 23 points and the Pittsburgh defense played well as the Panthers beat Penn State 83-53 on Saturday.

Pittsburgh's margin of victory was the largest in a series that dates back to the 1905-06 season. Pittsburgh beat Penn State by 28 points, 84-56, on Jan. 18, 1975.

Pittsburgh (8-1) broke the contest open at the end of the first half.

Penn State (2-5) trailed 28-16 after a layup by Brandon Watkins with 7:21 left in the half, before Pittsburgh went on a 20-3 run to take a 48-19 lead at halftime.

Penn State failed to score the final 5:27 of the first half.

Ontario Lett scored 16 points for Pittsburgh and Toree Morris added 10. Watkins led Penn State with 14 points.

The Panthers continued to pull away after halftime, outscoring Penn State 15-3 the first 6:35 of the second half. That gave Pitt a 63-22 lead, its largest of the game.

Penn State shot just 6-for-27 in the first half while the Panthers connected on 17 of 30 shots, including 5 of 12 3-point attempts.

The Panthers are off to their best start since the 1992-93 season when they started 9-1 and went to the NCAA tournament.