Pittsburgh, Pa. (Dec. 19, 2012) --- Delaware State trailed by just four points at the half, but was outscored 40-16 in the final 20 minutes of a 71-43 men's basketball loss to Pittsburgh at the Peterson Events Center this evening.
"I thought we did a nice job of controlling the tempo in the first half, but Pitt turned up its defense and beat us up on the boards after the break," said Delaware State head coach Greg Jackson. "We needed a complete game to beat a good Big East team like Pitt."
After falling behind 10-3 after five minutes, the Hornets outplayed the Panthers for much of the remainder of the first half.
Tahj Tate nailed his second three-pointer of the half to pull the Hornets to within 12-9. After a Pittsburgh turnover on its next possession, A.J. Thomas hit a driving lay-up to cut the Panthers' lead to 12-11 with 12:41 left in the first half.
Pitt was ahead 14-11 when Casey Walker knocked down a jumper and Tate hit a lay-up off a steal by Thomas to give the Hornets their first lead, 15-14, with 8:36 remaining in the half.
The score was 22-22 when Pittsburgh appeared to pull away. Steven Adams capped off an 8-0 run with a free throw to give the Panthers a 31-23 lead with 2:32 to go before halftime.
Delaware State refused to back down, scoring the last two baskets of the first half to stay in the game. Tate scored on a short jumper, then hit a lay-up off a steal with two seconds left in the half to cut the Panthers' lead to 31-27 at intermission.
Delaware State forced Pitt into eight turnovers in the first half. Tate led all players with 12 points in the opening frame.
Pittsburgh came out strong in the second half, scoring the first 10 points to take control. Adams capped off the spurt with a dunk to give the Panthers a 41-27 lead with 14:52 remaining in the game.
The Hornets didn't score their first second-half points until Tate hit a jumper with 14:17 left to pull the Hornets to within 41-29.
Pitt answered with a 9-3 run, and opened up a 50-32 lead on a lay-in by Talib Zanna with 10:38 to go. Zanna led all players with 20 points (9-13 FGs) and nine rebounds.
Delaware State (5-7) pulled to within 50-36 on two free throws by Tyshawn Bell with 9:42 left, but could get no closer.
Tate was high scorer for the Hornets with 19 points. He was 8-for-17 from the field, including two three-pointers. He was averaging 15.0 points per game entering the contest.
Casey Walker added eight points for DSU. He also had two three-point baskets.
J.J. Moore came off the bench to score 15, while Adams tallied 10 for Pitt.
The Panthers (11-1), winners of seven straight, were 30-for-49 from the field (61.2%) and held a 35-14 rebound advantage.
The Hornets were 6-for-19 from the field in the second half (31.6%) and 17-of -43 for the game (39.5%).
The Hornets will return to action on Dec. 29 at Maryland. Game time is 12:30 p.m. in College Park, Md.
