Pittsburgh, Pa. (December 19, 2009)-Mount St.
Mary's fell to Pittsburgh, 66-48, on Saturday afternoon in a
non-conference matchup at the Petersen Events Center. Seniors
Jeremy Goode (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day) and
Kelly Beidler (Virginia Beach, Va./Tallwood) each
scored 11 points in the loss for the Mount.
Trailing by 12 at the half, the Mount opened the second half
with a 10-to-3 run to cut the deficit to 33-28 with 16:44
remaining. Beidler scored four points in the run while Goode
capped it with a jumper.
Pitt (9-2) responded with a traditional three-point play from
Ashton Gibbs for an eight-point lead. Goode countered with a pair
of free throws, but Pitt scored consecutive baskets to stretch the
lead to 10.
The Mount (3-7), which has lost five straight games, was
trailing 42-35 with 12:41 remaining before the Panthers went on a
13-to-3 spurt for a 55-38 lead. The Mountaineers made a final
surge, cutting Pitt's lead to 57-46 with 4:52 left, but could get
no closer.
"I like our intensity in what we are trying to bring," said
Mount St. Mary's head coach Milan Brown. "I am happy with the
effort, but not so happy with the result."
Beidler finished the game with 11 points and eight rebounds
while Goode chipped in 11 points and a pair of assists.
Shawn Atupem (Newport News, Va./Woodside) added 10
points in the loss while Will Holland (Houston,
Texas/Lamar) added eight points and three rebounds in 27
minutes after missing the past seven game with a knee injury.
Brad Wanamaker led the Panthers with 20 points, seven assists
and six rebounds while Gibbs finished with 19 points in the game.
The win was the 28th straight home win for Pitt, which
improved to 73-1 all-time in non-conference games at the Petersen
Events Center.
In addition to Holland, the Mount's lineup was bolstered with
the addition redshirt freshman forward Jacolby Wells
(Emporia, Va./Greensville County) and true freshman
forward Raven Barber (Edgewood, Md./Paul VI
(Va.)). Wells sat out the first semester due to academics
while Barber was cleared by the NCAA's Initial Eligibility Center
on Thursday.
Wells finished with three rebounds in seven minutes in his first
collegiate game while Barber had a point and a rebound in three
minutes of action.
The Mount struggled on offense to start the game, falling behind
17-to-6, with 7:07 left in the first half. The Mountaineers hit
3-for-17 (.176) from the floor and committed six turnovers in that
stretch.
Mount St. Mary's, however, got right back into the game with a
12-to-4 run to cut the deficit to 21-18 with 4:00 left. Holland
keyed the run by hitting a pair of three pointers while Goode
finished the run on a fast-break lay-up after a Beidler steal.
The Panthers, though, closed out the half by scoring the final
nine points for a 30-18 lead at the break. Gibbs had five points
and McGhee four, including a dunk right before the buzzer, in the
run.
The Mount was held to 8-of-27 (.296) shooting in the first half
while Pitt shot 50.0 percent (13-of-26).
Mount St. Mary's returns to action on Tuesday, December 22, with
a 7:00 p.m. game at Boston University. It is the final game of the
Mount's seven-game road trip.
Game Notes...Pitt leads the all-time series
with the Mount, 4-0...This was the second meeting between the teams
since the Mount moved to Division I in 1988-89...Pitt held a 44-30
advantage on the boards in the game...The Mount finished with nine
turnovers in the game after committing six in the first 13
minutes.
