• Recap
• Bleachers

Gibbs' surge leads Pitt past Penguins, 72-56

Nov 28, 2009 - 8:06 PM By ALAN ROBINSON AP Sports Writer

PITTSBURGH(AP) -- Ashton Gibbs scored eight of his 14 points during a 10-0 run midway through the second half, and Pittsburgh took control after squandering an 11-point lead to pull away for a 72-56 victory over Youngstown State on Saturday.

Brad Wanamaker also scored 14 and Gary McGhee had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Panthers (5-1). Pitt rebounded from its first November loss in 38 games under seventh-year coach Jamie Dixon, a 78-62 defeat to No. 3 Texas on Tuesday.

Nasir Robinson added 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Panthers, who outscored the Penguins 30-14 over the final 12 minutes.

The Penguins (3-3), led by Kelvin Bright's 20 points and DeAndre Mays' 16, trailed 26-15 in the first half and 40-33 early in the second half before tying it at 42.

Gibbs' 15-foot jumper with 11:52 remaining put the Panthers up for good at 44-42, and McGhee scored inside. Gibbs, Pitt's best outside shooter but closely guarded most of the game, followed with consecutive 3-pointers in less than a minute to make it 52-42.

Gibbs missed his other five attempts from 3-point range and was 4 of 13 overall.

Pitt led 38-22 in rebounds, limiting the Penguins to eight in the first half as McGhee reached double figures in scoring and rebounding for the second successive game. The junior had not previously done so in his career before getting 11 points and 10 rebounds against Texas.

The Penguins' shooting fell off in the second half, when they were 33 percent (9 of 27) from the field after going 12 of 24 (50 percent) in the first half.

Pitt is 6-1 against Youngstown State, with its only loss occurring in 1976. The Penguins lost previously to Xavier 83-57 and Kent State 70-61.

The Panthers played their sixth consecutive game without guard Jermaine Dixon (broken right foot), their only returning starter. He could return within the next week to 10 days.