Originally published November 30, 2008 at 12:00 AM | Page modified November 30, 2008 at 12:04 AM

WSU gets outmuscled by No. 4 Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh's latest victory was far from being one of those classics you watch over and over. "You're talking about two good defensive teams...

By JIM O'CONNELL

The Associated Press

Game stats

NEWARK, N.J. — Pittsburgh's latest victory was far from being one of those classics you watch over and over.

"You're talking about two good defensive teams nationally," Panthers coach Jamie Dixon said. "Washington State is up there and people say we play pretty good defense and when there are good defensive teams you're not going to look smooth."

No. 4 Pittsburgh looked smooth enough to beat Washington State 57-43 Saturday night in the championship game of the Legends Classic — and it looked especially impressive in terms of defense.

The Panthers (7-0) limited the Cougars (5-1) to three points in the final 4:59.

"They definitely toughened up on us, especially in the second half," Washington State coach Tony Bennett said. "We had some looks, but we missed our shots. I also think we were pretty dog-tired by the end of the game. I think we learned a lot about toughness. They didn't allow us anything down the stretch. ... They just defend everything at the rim and protected the paint.

"They're men. It was like boys against men."

Sam Young scored 15 points for the Panthers, who were able to win a game where each team shot 35.4 percent from the field (17 of 48).

Daven Harmeling scored 12 points for WSU, which had won 21 consecutive regular-season games against nonconference opponents.

Pittsburgh made 20 of 27 free throws. WSU was 3 for 4 from the line.

"We tried to get in there," Bennett said. "We just bounced off bodies. That was a new level of physicality for us. When we have trouble scoring, it puts a lot of pressure on our defense and we just couldn't stop them. They're not going to wow you by playing over the rim, but they're just tough."



PITTSBURGH 57
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts

Biggs	27	3-8	2-3	2-3	0	1	8
Young	33	5-12	3-8	1-8	2	0	15
Blair	32	2-2	3-3	3-10	1	3	7
Fields	31	4-10	5-5	0-2	2	1	14
Dixon	28	1-7	5-6	2-5	1	3	7
Woodall	7	0-1	0-0	0-1	0	1	0
GBrown	23	2-6	2-2	1-3	0	1	6
Gibbs	5	0-0	0-0	1-1	1	1	0
Wanamaker	9	0-2	0-0	0-0	0	1	0
McGhee	5	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
	200	17-48	20-27	11-34	7	12	57

Percentages: FG .354, FT .741. Three-point goals: 3-13, .231 (Young 2-4, Fields 1-3, Woodall 0-1, Biggs 0-1, G.Brown 0-2, Dixon 0-2). Team rebounds: 1. Blocked shots: 8 (Blair 3, Dixon 2, Young 2, Biggs). Turnovers: 8 (Blair 3, Young 2, Gibbs, Biggs, G.Brown). Steals: 11 (Biggs 2, Blair 2, Young 2, Dixon 2, McGhee, Fields, G.Brown). Technical fouls: None.



WASHINGTON ST. 43
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts

Harmeling	30	4-9	0-0	1-2	1	2	12
Baynes	33	3-8	1-2	1-5	0	2	7
Thompson	33	3-12	0-0	0-6	1	4	7
Koprivica	27	2-3	0-0	1-2	1	3	5
Rochestie	36	2-9	2-2	0-4	4	2	6
Capers	14	1-1	0-0	0-2	2	2	2
Lodwick	1	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
Casto	19	2-4	0-0	1-3	0	4	4
Forrest	7	0-1	0-0	0-2	0	0	0
	200	17-48	3-4	6-29	9	19	43

Percentages: FG .354, FT .750. Three-point goals: 6-18, .333 (Harmeling 4-9, Koprivica 1-1, Thompson 1-4, Lodwick 0-1, Rochestie 0-3). Team rebounds: 3. Blocked shots: 2 (Capers, Baynes). Turnovers: 15 (Rochestie 8, Koprivica 2, Thompson 2, Capers, Forrest). Steals: 3 (Baynes 2, Thompson). Technical fouls: None.