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Dominating Gray leads Pitt against FSU in Colonial championship

Nov 24, 2006 - 3:04 PM Florida St (4-0) at No. 4 Pittsburgh (5-0) 7:30 pm EST

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- Aaron Gray and No. 4 Pittsburgh seek their 17th straight non-conference home victory when the Panthers meet undefeated Florida State in the finals of the Colonial Classic.

A 7-0 senior, Gray has dominated Pittsburgh's early-season foes, averaging 17.6 points, 10.6 rebounds and shooting 66 percent from the field.

After four easy victories, Pittsburgh rallied from a four-point halftime deficit for a 66-55 win against Oakland on Sunday. Gray, the preseason Big East Player of the Year, had 23 points and 13 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.

Levon Kendall had 11 points and nine rebounds for the Panthers, who forced just seven turnovers but held Oakland to under 37 percent (19-of-52) shooting.

The Seminoles raced to a 42-14 halftime lead en route to a 69-50 thumping of New Orleans in their semifinal. Al Thornton scored 12 points, Jason Rich added 11 and Auburn transfer Toney Douglas 10 for Florida State, which forced 26 turnovers and held New Orleans to under 33 percent (15-of-46) shooting.

Both teams advanced to the title game with three double-digit victories in the round-robin tournament. Now Florida State must find a way to stop Gray, who has three inches on Uche Echefu and four on Thornton.

Pitt is 7-1 all-time against Florida State and has won four straight, including a 63-56 home victory on December 22, 2003.