• Recap
• Bleachers

Hopson, No. 11 Tennessee beat third-ranked Pitt

Dec 11, 2010 - 11:32 PM Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - Scotty Hopson scored a career-high 27 points to lead 11th-ranked Tennessee to an 83-76 victory over No. 3 Pittsburgh at the Consol Energy Center.

Melvin Goins made 10-of-12 free throws en route to 19 points for the Volunteers (7-0), who got 14 points from Cameron Tatum.

Brad Wanamaker totaled 21 points and nine assists with five rebounds and five steals for the Panthers (10-1). Gilbert Brown and Ashton Gibbs both donated 15 points in defeat.

Pitt opened the game's scoring on a Wanamaker layup. It proved to be the only time the Panthers possessed the lead.

Tennessee built a 37-25 lead at the break and led by 21 at 61-40 on a John Fields dunk midway through the second half.

The Panthers rallied to trim their deficit to 74-66 on a Gibbs' three-pointer with 1:27 remaining. But the comeback bid fell short as the Vols sealed the win at the charity stripe.

Game Notes

The Vols are 7-0 for the first time under head coach Bruce Pearl...Pitt shot just 32.1 percent (9-of-28) in the first half...Tennessee made 7-of-11 three- pointers...The Panthers converted only 25-of-42 free throws...The Vols have won four of the five all-time meetings with Pitt...Saturday's contest was part of the Big East/SEC Invitational.