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Robinson, No. 17 Pitt top Tennessee

Dec 4, 2011 - 1:33 AM Knoxville, TN (Sports Network) - Nasir Robinson's double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds helped No. 17 Pittsburgh earn a 61-56 victory over Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Ashton Gibbs also scored 16 points for the Panthers (7-1), who got eight points apiece from Lamar Patterson, Dante Taylor and John Johnson.

Pittsburgh has won five straight since an 86-76 loss to Long Beach State on November 16.

Cameron Tatum had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Volunteers (3-4), who have dropped four of five. Jeronne Maymon and Trae Golden both contributed 12 points in defeat.

"It was one of those fun games that I really like being a part of. Unfortunately we came up short," said Tennessee head coach Cuonzo Martin.

Golden drained a three-pointer with 11.6 seconds remaining to pull Tennessee within two at 58-56. Taylor missed a free throw and the Volunteers had an opportunity to tie the game or move ahead, but Golden got tied up by Gibbs. The possession arrow was in the favor of the Panthers, and Johnson make a fastbreak layup as he was being fouled with 1.8 seconds left. He made the free throw to complete the scoring.

"I think we grounded it out and that was good to see," said Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon. "We had to get stops down the stretch and that's what we did. We fought through some adversity and some foul trouble early and made the right plays. So there were some very good performances by a lot of guys."

A tightly-contested first half ended with Pittsburgh holding a 27-26 lead.

Game Notes

This game was part of the Big East/SEC Challenge...Gibbs totaled six assists, five rebounds and three steals...Kenny Hall posted eight points and 12 boards for Tennessee...Pittsburgh made just 3-of-9 free throws.