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Gibbs leads Pitt over Robert Morris

Nov 28, 2011 - 6:48 AM Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - Ashton Gibbs scored 21 points to lead the 17th-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers over the Robert Morris Colonials, 81-71.

Tray Woodall added 12 points and 10 assists for the Panthers (5-1), who captured the Philly HoopGroup Classic title. Cameron Wright tallied 13 points and Talib Zanna chipped in with 10 points and 15 rebounds.

"He looked at times as though he was playing volleyball on the glass by himself," Robert Morris head coach Andrew Toole said about Zanna's rebounding.

Cordon Williams ended with 19 points for the Colonials (4-2), who had a two- game win streak snapped. Russell Johnson donated 17 points and eight boards.

Ahead by four, 12-8, the Panthers ripped off seven straight points to create some distance. Wright's layup and dunk made it a 19-8 contest with 11 1/2 minutes left in the first half.

Pittsburgh scored six unanswered points moments later to take a 28-12 edge. The margin was 42-25 at the half.

Robert Morris outscored the Panthers 46-39 in the second half, but never got closer than eight.

"I was really happy about how we played, especially in the first half," Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon said. "I wish we could have finished a little better, but we knew Robert Morris was going to battle. That is what they do, they play hard and get after it no matter the score."

Game Notes

Pittsburgh has won all 30 games in this series...The Panthers shot 48.1 percent from the field, while the Colonials made 37.3 percent of their shots...Khem Birch had six blocks for Pittsburgh.