Tray Woodall, Ashton Gibbs and the revived Pittsburgh Panthers reeled off another win on Sunday, beating Villanova 79-70 at the Pete. Woodall and Gibbs combined for about two-thirds of the Panthers’ points, with Woodall scoring 29 and Gibbs 25.
Villanova held the lead through much of the first half, and they were ahead by five points after two straight threes by James Bell with about eight minutes left before the teams headed to the locker room. That’s when Gibbs took over, however, draining bucket after bucket, and Pitt headed into the half with a 40-28 lead. 14 of those 40 points came from Gibbs.
The Panthers held Villanova at arm’s length through the first 10 minutes of the second half, but the Wildcats gradually narrowed the lead after that. A series of foul shots by Gibbs and Woodall (who went 12-of-12 from the line) finally put the game away for the Panthers.
The victory was the Panthers’ fourth straight, and they’re now 4-7 in the Big East. They travel to South Florida on Wednesday.