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PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- Brandin Knight served notice that he is just fine for the NCAA Tournament. The Big East Conference's co-player of the year had 17 points, nine assists and five steals as third-seeded Pittsburgh posted a 71-54 victory over pesky 14th-seeded Central Connecticut State in a first-round South Region game. All eyes were on Knight, who strained the quadriceps muscle in his right leg in last Saturday's Big East championship game loss to Connecticut, and did not run at full speed in practice throughout the week. Although he also injured his right pinkie after a fall in a morning practice on Thursday, Knight insisted he was fine and backed up his claim by playing 39 minutes. "That's why I call Brandin the Einstein of point guards," Pittsburgh coach Ben Howland said. "I've been associated with a number of good point guards, two guys who you heard of -- John Stockton and Brian Shaw -- and he's right in that league. Great players make the plays and he made the plays." Afterwards, Knight again downplayed his quad injury. "The leg is fine," Knight said. "The answer is not going to change and that's it. Please no more questions about it." The brother of Memphis Grizzlies guard Brevin Knight, Brandin converted a jumper, a 3-pointer, a runner in the lane and had two steals to highlight a 15-2 first-half run which gave Pittsburgh an 18-11 lead. The Panthers increased the advantage to 12 in the second half, but Central Connecticut went on a 10-1 run and pulled within 43-40 on a basket by Corsley Edwards with 9:34 left. But Julius Page, who finished with 16 points, hit a pair of 3-pointers to ignite an 8-0 spurt for the Panthers, who kept the lead in double figures the rest of the way. Pittsburgh (28-5) played its first NCAA Tournament game since 1993 before a partisan crowd at the Mellon Arena and will play sixth-seeded California Sunday in the second round. Central Connecticut (27-5), the champion of the Northeast Conference, entered the game with a 19-game winning streak, but suffered its second first-round NCAA Tournament loss in three years under coach Howie Dickenman. "We set several school records with 27 wins and 19 wins in a row, but Pittsburgh was physically stronger than we were," Dickenman said. The loss by the Blue Devils leaves Kent State, which beat Oklahoma State in a South Region first-round game on Thursday for their 19th straight win, with the longest Division I streak. Edwards, the NEC player of the year, led Central Connecticut with 16 points in his final college game and Damian Battles added 15. "It is a disappointment to lose but we were playing a Big East team and they play hard," Edwards said. Knight was 7-of-17 from the field, including just 1-of-8 from 3-point range, but his penetration helped Pittsburgh shoot 53 percent from the field. Page opened the game with a 3-pointer but Central Connecticut scored the next nine points as Edwards converted a layup and a pair of free throws and Battles connected on a 3-pointer. But Knight scored seven points to highlight the 15-2 run. After hitting a 15-footer, Knight connected on his lone 3-pointer to give Pittsburgh a 14-11 lead with 12:29 left. He followed with a steal to set up a layup by Donatas Zavackas and capped the spurt with a layup with 11:26 left. The Blue Devils responded with a 9-2 run as Battles hit a 3-pointer and a layup to tie the game at 20-20 with 5:44 remaining. Knight converted a 3-point play to break a scoring drought of more than five minutes and ignite a 7-0 run for the Panthers, giving them a 27-20 lead. A 3-pointer by Battles with 1:01 left pulled Central Connecticut within 29-25 at halftime. Pittsburgh scored the first eight points of the second half on a a layup and dunk by Chevon Troutman, a steal and layup by Knight, and a layup by Jaron Brown. Edwards scored inside with 17:20 left for Central Connecticut's first points of the second half. A three-point play by Knight increased Pittsburgh's lead to 40-27 with 14:35 left, but the Blue Devils made the raucous crowd nervous with a 13-3 run. Corsley had a pair of baskets and Jonathan Popofski connected on a 3-pointer to highlight the spurt which pulled the Blue Devils within 43-40. Page answered the challenge with a pair of 3-pointers and Brown hit a short jumper to give Pittsburgh a 51-40 lead with 7:58 left. The Panthers pulled away in the final minutes and Page punctuated the performance with a left-hand windmill dunk with 38 seconds left. "I just hopped into the passing lane and when I saw nobody was with me, I decided to provide some excitement for the fans," Page said. "The windmill is my trademark, ever since high school if I'm clear on a break." . |
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