March 3, 2006

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PITTSBURGH (AP) - Donald Copeland scored Seton Hall's last seven points over the final 1:56 and the Pirates ended No. 8 Pittsburgh's 16-game home winning streak with a 65-61 victory Friday night that greatly improved their NCAA tournament chances.

Aaron Gray missed two free throws with 8.5 seconds remaining that would have tied it for Pittsburgh (21-6, 10-6 Big East), and Copeland followed several seconds later with two free throws to deal the Panthers their second consecutive loss and third in four games.

Kelly Whitney scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds as Seton Hall (18-10, 9-7) won its second in a row following three consecutive losses that damaged the Pirates' NCAA hopes. Copeland followed up a 28-point game against Cincinnati with 15 points, most down the stretch.

Pitt's late-season slump will likely drop the Panthers to the No. 6 seed in the Big East tournament and a 9 p.m. game Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. The Panthers were in position to secure the No. 4 spot and a first-round bye until losing to No. 16 West Virginia 67-62 on Monday night.

The Panthers, unbeaten at home since their final home game last season, led 16-6 with 5 1/2 minutes gone but were troubled after that by turnovers -- they had 14 to Seton Hall's 6 -- and senior point guard Carl Krauser's second consecutive poor shooting game.

Krauser, playing his final home game as one of only three players in school history to play on four consecutive 20-win teams, was held to nine points on 2-of-10 shooting. He was coming off 3-of-16 shooting performance during a 10-point effort at West Virginia.

Despite Krauser's off night -- he didn't score until there was 13:35 remaining -- Pitt led 57-55 on Antonio Graves' basket with slightly more than four minutes left. Gray led Pitt with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Levon Kendall added 15.

But Copeland's 3-pointer with 1:56 left put the Pirates up 61-57 and, after Kendall answered for Pitt, Copeland came back with a driving layup with 1:01 to go that made it 63-59. Pitt had a chance after Gray dunked with 43 seconds left and Copeland turned the ball over in the lane, but Gray missed his two free throws -- just as he did in the closing seconds of an 84-82 loss at Marquette on Feb. 18.

Pitt, trying to complete its second 16-0 home season since opening the on-campus Petersen Events Center in 2002, looked as though it might win easily by jumping out to early leads of 12-4 and 16-6. But the Pirates surged back with a 14-4 run finished off by Jamar Nutter's 3-pointer to tie it at 20 with 8:39 left in the first half.

The Panthers never could settle into an offensive rhythm or build on the few runs they generated. They trailed by as many as four points in the second half.

Krauser's 3-pointer with 13:35 remaining cut the Pirates' lead to 41-40, and his only other basket, another 3-pointer with just over six minutes left, put Pitt up 54-50. But Whitney's jump hook from the lane and an in-close basket with 4:25 remaining tied it at 55.